Read the given passage and answer the following questions :

The average duration of human pregnancy is about 9 months which is called the gestation period. Vigorous contraction of the uterus at the end of pregnancy causes expulsion/delivery of the foetus. This process of delivery of the foetus (childbirth) is called parturition. Parturition is induced by a complex neuroendocrine mechanism. The signals for parturition originate from the fully developed foetus and the placenta which induce mild uterine contractions called foetal ejection reflex. This triggers release of oxytocin from the maternal pituitary. Oxytocin acts on the uterine muscle and causes stronger uterine contractions, which in turn stimulates further secretion of oxytocin. The stimulatory reflex between the uterine contraction and oxytocin secretion continues resulting in stronger and stronger contractions. This leads to expulsion of the baby out of the uterus through the birth canal – parturition. Soon after the infant is delivered, the placenta is also expelled out of the uterus. The mammary glands of the female undergo differentiation during pregnancy and starts producing milk towards the end of pregnancy by the process called lactation. This helps the mother in feeding the new- born. The milk produced during the initial few days of lactation is called colostrum which contains several antibodies absolutely essential to develop resistance for the new-born babies. Breast-feeding during the initial period of infant growth is recommended by doctors for bringing up a healthy baby.

Foetal ejection reflex triggers the release of:

Oxytocin

The correct answer is Option (2) - Oxytocin

The process of delivery of foetus is called as parturition. Parturition is the act of expelling the full-term foetus from the mother's uterus at the end of gestation. In this process fully developed foetus produces foetal ejection reflex which stimulates pituitary to release oxytocin hormone. This hormone causes vigorous uterine contraction that leads to the delivery of foetus. This process is also known as the delivery of the foetus when the pregnancy period gets over. The importance of parturition is that the event results in the foetus to come out of the womb. The process is accompanied with the onset of lactation.