Figure 10.

Conceptual model of adiponectin as a metabolic quiescence factor. Risk for labor, with uterine contractions and cervical change, may be determined by the balance of multiple quiescence factors during early pregnancy and intermittent activating stimuli throughout gestation. As pregnancy progresses and maternal weight gain and obesity increase, adiponectin levels fall, thereby removing a progestational factor and increasing susceptibility to myometrial activation. In normal parturition, the quiescence and activating factors are optimized for delivery at term.