title: [Decrease or increase in maternal blood prolactin concentrations during labor (author's transl)].
abstract: Serum cortisol levels were previously shown to increase during labor and delivery in term-pregnants. In the present study, the same sera were investigated for the prolactin levels. The mean levels of 169.1 +/- 15.6 (SE) ng/ml prior to the onset of labor fell significantly to 98.8 +/- 15.6 and 116.8 +/- 15.6ng/ml immediately before and after delivery, respectively . However, the prolactin levels were found to have rather risen in 2 and 6 cases immediately before and after delivery, respectively. Increases in serm cortisol levels during labor in these cases were much greater than in other cases. This indicates that labor-stress, if powerful, can stimulate prolactin release in term-pregnants, as other kinds of stress in non-pregnants and animals. The present results may interpreted as follows: Unknown factors are inhibiting the prolactin release naturally stimulated with labor-stress, and the increased stimulation of labor-stress can release prolactin specially as immediately after delivery.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D011247:Pregnancy; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D011388:Prolactin; D006854:Hydrocortisone