Human placental lactogen (human chorionic somatomammotropin) and oxytocin during pregnancy: Individual patterns and associations with maternal-fetal attachment, anxiety, and depression.

Previous studies support links among maternal-fetal attachment, psychological symptoms, and hormones during pregnancy and the post-partum period. Other studies connect maternal feelings and behaviors to oxytocin and suggest that an increase in oxytocin during pregnancy may prime maternal-fetal attachment. To date, researchers have not examined a possible association between maternal-fetal attachment with human placental lactogen although animal models are suggestive. In the current study, we sought to describe oxytocin and human placental lactogen levels as related to psychological constructs across pregnancy. Seventy women participated in the study. At each of three time-points (early, mid, and late pregnancy), the women had their blood drawn to assess oxytocin and human placental lactogen levels, and they completed psychological assessments measuring maternal-fetal attachment, anxiety, and depression. Our results indicate that oxytocin levels were statistically similar across pregnancy, but that human placental lactogen significantly increased across pregnancy. Results did not indicate significant associations of within-person (comparing individuals to themselves) oxytocin or human placental lactogen levels with maternal-fetal attachment. Additionally, results did not show between-person (comparing individuals to other individuals) oxytocin or human placental lactogen levels with maternal-fetal attachment. Oxytocin levels were not associated with anxiety; rather the stage of pregnancy moderated the effect of the within-person OT level on depression. Notably, increasing levels of human placental lactogen were significantly associated with increasing levels of both anxiety and depression in between subject analyses. The current study is important because it describes typical hormonal and maternal fetal attachment levels during each stage of pregnancy, and because it suggests an association between human placental lactogen and psychological symptoms during pregnancy. Future research should further elucidate these relationships.

The influence of the smoke habit on maternal chronic gonadotropin (hCG) and placental lactogen (hPL) blood levels during the first trimester of pregnancy

Smoking habit is quite common in our society. It is well-known that this is harmful to adult health. We have worried about the effects of smoking upon fetuses of smoking mothers, suspecting that it could responsible for placental changes at the beginning of pregnancy. The influence of smoking on the maternal hCG and hPL blood levels was investigated, determining these hormones in blood samples during the first trimester of pregnancy. A comparison between smoking and nonsmoking groups showed significantly lower hCG blood levels in the smoking group. There was no difference of hPL values between the smoking and nonsmoking groups.

Influências das condiçöes maternas nos níveis sangüíneos da HCG e HPL no primeiro trimestre da gestaçäo / The influence of the maternal environment in the peripherical blood levels of GCH and LPH during first trimester of pregnancy

Com a finalidade de avaliar a influência do meio ambiente materno nos níveis sangüíneos dos hormônios gonadotrófico (HCG) e lactogêncio plancentário (HPL) no início da gestaçäo, foram estudadas 326 gestantes de primeiro trimestre. O HCG e o HPL foram dosados e padronizados para o dia 70 da gestaçäo para permitir a comparaçäo dos resultados. O meio ambiente materno foi avaliado através das dosagens de hemoglobina (Hb), hematócrito (Ht), volume corpuscular médio (VCM), contagem de glóbulos vermelhos (CGV), ferro (Fe), ferritina (Fer), capacidade total de ligaçäo do ferro (TIBC) e índice de massa corpórea (IMC). Concluiu-se que existe uma correlaçäo inversa estatisticamente significativa entre o IMC, Hb e Ht e os níveis sangüíneos maternos do HCG

Studies of the immediate postpartum diabetes remission and/or hypoglycemia after cesarean section in diabetic pregnancy

Five non-diabetic subjects, 5 gestational diabetics (GDM) treated with diet and 4 non-insulin dependent pregestational diabetics (NIDDM) treated with beef-pork insulin during their pregnancy, undergoing elective cesarean section (C-s), were given dextrose infusions without insulin for 7 hours (h) starting lh before the operation. Multiple blood samples were drawn up to 72 h after the C-s. The lowest glucose levels were observed at 3 3 or 6 h after surgery in all but two subjects. Plasma glucose below 2.75 mmol/l (49.5 mg/dl) were observed in 2 NIDDM patients. While in the non-diabetics and GDM the free (total) insulin and C-peptide values fell to very low levels, coinciding with the fall in plasma glucose, in the NIDDM there was a negative correlation between nadir glucose and free insulin levels with the progressive fall of antibody-bound insulin. In 3 out of NIDDM patients the antibodybound insulin fell to 57 to 73 per cent of the preoperative values. IGF-I/SmC, lower in the NIDDM, hGH immunoreactivity and hPL fell after C-s. The results suggest increased glucose utilization insulin-independent in the immediate postpartum in the non-diabetic pregnancy and GDM. However, in the NIDMM, in the presence of significant levels of free insulin, they tend to develop lower plasma glucose levels, sometimes hypoglycemia. Furthermore, lower IGF-I/Smc levels in the NIDDM in comparison to the non-diabetics and GDM would discard their role in the induction of hypoglycemia.

Evaluación hormonal del estado fetal: estriol total y somatomamotropina coriónica / Hormonal evaluation of fetal status: total estrioland chronic somatomanmotropin

Se presentan los resultados de 1,104 determinaciones de estriol total (E3) y 1,099 de somatomatropina coriónica (SMC) realizadas en forma seriada en el suero de embarazadas sanas (grupo testigo) y con gestaciones complicadas, en diferentes semanas del proceso reproductivo. Analizadas como grupo se obtuvieron significativamente menores valores en casos en que existió óbito fetal y toxemia, o cuando los recién nacidos fueron catalogados como hipotróficos; sin embargos, el valor pronóstico predicativo en el mejor de los casos fue de 39%. Los resultados se comentan en base a la fisiología de esas hormonas y a otros estudios previos, y se cuestiona la utilidad de solicitar esos análisis como parámetros de bienestar fetal