title: Calcium levels during the initiation of labor.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the physiological role of calcium in the labor process.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-eight term healthy pregnant women who gave birth to normal healthy neonates participated in our study. We compared calcium levels between pregnant women who had normal delivery and those who underwent scheduled cesarean section. The control group consisted of pregnant women with gestation > or =37 weeks without contractions. The groups were compared with respect to calcium levels: (a) in maternal blood serum; (b) in blood serum of the neonates and mothers; and (c) in blood serum between neonates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly higher calcium levels were found in the group of pregnant women who delivered vaginally compared to those who delivered by scheduled cesarean section and those of the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We assume that the increased calcium levels during the first stage of labor are involved with a possible role of calcium in the mechanism of initiation of labor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Lampros
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Papandreou
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chasiotis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seferiadis
authors.forename: Nikos C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Thanasoulias
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dousias
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsanadis
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stefos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D002585:Cesarean Section; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium