Pituitary LH response to LHRH during puerperium

Forty puerperal women and 15 normally menstruating women used as controls were given 100 microgram of synthetic luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) in a single intravenous injection. Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were measured by a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA). The LH-beta RIA method, which is unaffected by hCG at sample levels as high as 500 IU/ml, was used to determine serum LH levels. Basal serum FSH and LH levels determined immediately after delivery were lower than those in the follicular and luteal phases during the normal menstrual cycle. These levels rose gradually after delivery, and finally returned to normal levels during the 16th to 25th days of the puerperal period. Small, but significant, LH response to LHRH was observed 6-10 days after delivery, and gradually returned to normal thereafter, though the response was poor during the first 35 days of the puerperal period when compared with that of the controls. On the other hand, no FSH response to LHRH was observed until 16-25 days after delivery, when the response was greater than that of the controls.