Cardiff puerperal mood and hormone study. 1. Saliva steroid hormone profiles in late pregnancy and the puerperium: endocrine factors and parturition.
Participants were 120 primiparous women who had vaginal delivery of a non-handicapped child. Saliva was collected twice daily through parturition to day 35 post-partum. In the prepartum, a highly significant circadian rhythm was seen in cortisol, with a lower-amplitude rhythm in progesterone (AM/PM = 1.12). Evening samples showed a rise in cortisol, with a highly significant rise on day -1. The rise was small. The fall in progesterone in the 3 days before parturition was also small (approximately 6%). Neither change provides an obvious trigger for parturition.
Harris
B
B
Department of Psychological Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Lovett
L
L
Roberts
S
S
Read
G F
GF
Riad-Fahmy
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000502:physiology*; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*
D011374:Progesterone; D006854:Hydrocortisone