Amniotic oxytocin and vasopressin in relation to human fetal development and labour

Previous experiments in rats revealed increased amniotic oxytocin (OXT) levels in the course of normal development and increased vasopressin (AVP) levels in retarded fetal growth. In order to see whether similar changes would also occur in human, OXT and AVP levels were determined in amniotic fluid, maternal and fetal plasma before or during labour. Positive correlations were found between umbilical AVP levels on the one hand and gestation length, birth weight, placental weight and brain size on the other. This suggests a maturation process taking place in the AVP-producing system. A marked increase in maternal plasma OXT and umbilical AVP was found during labour. Increased amniotic fluid AVP levels were found in conditions indicative of fetal stress (viz., lower pH, higher PCO2) without any correlation to fetal growth parameters, while increased amniotic OXT levels were correlated with higher PO2. Furthermore, fetal brain size correlated positively with amniotic OXT levels. In conclusion, a rise in amniotic OXT levels seems to reflect normal development of the human fetus, similarly to what has been found in the rat. Increased amniotic AVP levels seem indicative of fetal acidosis.