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Maternal and Fetal Plasma Steroid Hormone Levels in Vaginal Delivery With and Without ACTH Infusion
Author(s) -
Miyakawa Isao,
Ikeda Isao,
Nakayama Michio,
Maeyama Masao
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/j.1879-3479.1977.tb00751.x
Subject(s) - medicine , estriol , endocrinology , radioimmunoassay , fetus , hormone , estrogen , adrenocorticotropic hormone , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Radioimmunoassay tests were performed on the plasma of healthy women before, during and after labor and on plasma from the umbilical cord of their newborns at delivery to determine the levels of cortisol, progesterone and unconjugated estradiol‐17 β (estradiol) and estriol. The levels of plasma cortisol found in six women just before delivery were statistically higher than the levels found in the same women before the onset of labor. The fetal plasma cortisol level found just after delivery was considerably lower than the maternal level, and the difference was statistically significant. The levels of plasma estradiol and estriol did not change in seven women during labor. In the newborn infants, these levels were significantly higher than the maternal levels. When adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) was infused into four women during labor, the levels of plasma cortisol increased slightly, but not significantly. The maternal plasma levels of both estradiol and estriol did not differ from the control values, while in the newborn infants these levels were significantly lower than those normally found. During labor, there was no difference between the plasma progesterone levels found in women who had been treated with ACTH infusion and in those who were not treated with ACTH. The results of this study suggest that an infusion of ACTH during labor causes the maternal adrenal cortex to increase the synthesis of corticosteroids. The corticosteroids then cross the placental barrier from the maternal to the fetal side and suppress the production of the estrogen precursor in the fetal adrenal gland, which results in lowered fetal plasma estrogen levels.