Some aspects of childbirth have remained surprisingly mysterious - and scientists haven’t been able to agree on what actually kicks off the labour process. But they’ve finally worked out what’s going on - and the discovery could turn birth into a much more predictable occasion.
The labour process in humans is much more complex than in other mammals. But researchers have now worked out the driving force that kicks it all off is the immune system - a special type of inflammatory macrophage sending mitochondria to the uterus just before birth.
To explain this new discovery and why it might be game-changing for avoiding pre-term births, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Australia reporter Alice Klein.
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