Longitudinal changes in disgust sensitivity during pregnancy and the early postpartum period, and the role of recent health problems.

Disgust is an essential part of the behavioral immune system, protecting the individual from infection. According to the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis (CPH), disgust sensitivity increases in times of immunosuppression, potentially including pregnancy. We aimed to replicate a previous study observing longitudinal changes in disgust sensitivity in pregnant women. Additionally, for the first time, we explored how recent health problems influence these changes. To do this, we obtained disgust sensitivity measures from 94 women in each trimester and in early postpartum. In contrast to the original study, where disgust sensitivity was highest in the first trimester, we found that overall and animal reminder disgust increased across pregnancy and after birth. In line with the CPH, women who were recently sick in the first trimester had elevated disgust sensitivity at that time. Although disgust sensitivity was significantly higher in the second trimester and postpartum period compared to the first trimester in mothers pregnant with a male fetus, the overall results regarding the effect of fetus sex on disgust sensitivity were mixed. It seems that changing levels of disgust sensitivity during pregnancy and postpartum result from a suite of physiological and psychological changes that occur during this sensitive period of a woman's life.

Cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma during physiological single male pregnancies: methodology issues and kinetics.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze methodological influences and characterize the concentrations of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) circulating in maternal plasma at different gestational ages in physiological pregnancies. METHODS: We investigated 238 independent samples from single male-bearing pregnancies of different gestation age. In the other 50 pregnancies, the samples were collected three times during pregnancy (at all trimesters) to evaluate the kinetics of cffDNA. The manual and automated DNA extraction methods (Roche) were compared. cffDNA was amplified using real-time PCR method and Y-specific sequences SRY and DYS14. Total cell-free DNA circulating in maternal plasma was determined by the use of the GADPH sequence. RESULTS: The elevation in the concentration of cffDNA during pregnancy with the highest value in the third trimester was observed independently on the DNA extraction method and on the Y-specific amplified sequence. The same is documented for the percentage of fetal DNA in total cell-free DNA in maternal plasma. It increases also in successive trimesters (8.3, 10.7 and 23.2%). CONCLUSIONS: We discuss methodological problems and describe statistical parameters of cffDNA concentrations in maternal plasma during pregnancy as the basic information for comparison with pregnancies having a pathological outcome.