Umbilical cord venous progesterone at term delivery in relation to mode of delivery

To determine whether the umbilical cord venous progesterone at term delivery is related to the mode of delivery.

Thirty-nine pregnant patients at term were divided into three groups: elective cesarean section (control), spontaneous vaginal delivery, and emergency cesarean section. Umbilical cord venous and maternal serum progesterone were measured by radioimmunoassay. Statistical analysis was carried out using Student's t-test, with the level of significance set at P < 0.05.

Umbilical cord venous progesterone was significantly higher in babies delivered by emergency cesarean section (P < 0.001) and in those who had spontaneous vaginal delivery (P < 0.02), compared with the control group. Maternal serum progesterone concentrations showed no significant differences between the three groups. The Apgar scores of the stressed group of babies were significantly lower (P < 0.001).

The findings demonstrate that the fetuses exposed to stress during labor produce higher progesterone secretion. This could be one possible way the fetus protects itself against the sequelae of hypoxia.