oxytocin and Paraplegia

Maternal and fetal oxytocin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in a paraplegic woman with a spinal cord lesion at T-4/T-5 who went into spontaneous labor at 39 wk of pregnancy and delivered vaginally a male infant weighing 3220 g. She showed signs of autonomic hyperreflexia during labor. Maternal plasma oxytocin was 3-12 pg/ml in 3 blood samples and undetectable in another 4 taken during the first stage, with a surge of 38 pg/ml at delivery of the fetus. Oxytocin levels were 73 pg/ml in umbilical venous plasma, and 14 pg/ml in amniotic fluid. The findings indicate that the fetus was an important source of oxytocin to the maternal uterus.

Topics: Adult; Female; Fetal Blood; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Labor, Obstetric; Male; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Oxytocin; Paraplegia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Radioimmunoassay