Steroid hormone changes in fetal blood during labor.
Radioimmunoassays of pregnenolone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) 16 alpha-hydroxy-DHA, estriol, and cortisol were performed on a total of 0;1 ml; of fetal plasma, collected during the course of normal vaginal delivery. The mean hormone concentrations +/- standard errors of fetal blood in the first and second stages of labor and of the umbilical arterial and venous blood at delivery were as follows: pregnenolone, 0.53 +/-0.06, 1.13 +/- 0.16, 1.48 +/- 0.14, and 1.34 +/- 0.27 micrograms per milliliter; progesterone, 0.12 +/- 0.01, 0.14 +/- 0.01, 0.26 +/- 0.02, and 0.34 +/- 0.02 micrograms per milliliter; DHA, 0.98 +/- 0.11, 0.94 +/- 0.08, 1.51 +/- 0.25, and 1.23 +/- 0.11 micrograms per milliliter; 16 alpha-hydroxy-DHA, 1.54 +/- 0.22, 1.49 +/- 0.31, 2.27 +/- 0.25, and 1.82 +/- 0.21 micrograms per milliliter; cortisol, 1.82 +/- 0.15, 1.91 +/- 0.24, 2.39 +/- 0.19, and 2.35 +/- 0.17 micrograms per milliter; cortisol, 0.11 +/- 0.01, 0.09 +/- 0.01, 0.16 +/- 0.02, and 0.14 +/-0.01 micrograms per milliliter. Except for cortisol, the levels in the fetal blood of all the steroids studied rose significantly at delivery of the infant, when compared to the titers in the first stage of labor. During delivery, increased titers of pregnenolone and DHA, steroids which are of fetal adrenal origin, suggest enhanced adrenal activity during the final phase of labor.
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D004964:Estriol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004964:Estriol; D006854:Hydrocortisone