Gastrin and gastrointestinal dyspepsia in pregnancy

Fasting serum gastrin (SG) concentration and the SG response to a standard protein meal were investigated in 8 women with upper gastrointestinal dyspepsia in the 36th week of pregnancy and again 8 weeks after parturition, when the dyspepsia had disappeared. The fasting SG concentration was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) during pregnancy than post partum, whereas no statistically significant difference was found between the SG response to a protein meal stimulation during pregnancy vs. post partum. The demonstrated variations in gastrin secretion during and after pregnancy offer no explanation for the upper gastrointestinal dyspepsia of our patients.