Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026
The Use of Gas Chromatography to Analyze Compositional Changes of Fatty Acids in Rat Liver Tissue during Pregnancy
Published on: March 13, 2014
Comparison of maternal serum lipids before and during parturition
G Del Priore1, R T Chatterton, A Chandarana
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Objective:
To investigate peripartum progesterone metabolism by measuring its lipid precursors.
Methods:
Serum was collected from eight pregnant women not in labor during the third trimester and again during active labor. Samples were analyzed using quantitative spectrophotometric absorbance techniques for apolipoprotein A-1, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and total cholesterol.
Results:
Remote from labor, the mean gestational age antepartum was 35.6 weeks; during active labor it was 39.2 weeks. The amount of apolipoprotein A-1 present was 182.0 mg/dL before labor and 156.8 mg/dL during active labor; HDL cholesterol was 59.3 mg/dL before labor and 37.5 mg/dL during active labor, and total cholesterol was 226.6 mg/dL before labor and 144.1 mg/dL during active labor. All differences were significant at P < .05.
Conclusion:
Maternal serum lipids associated with progesterone metabolism appear to decrease in the peripartum period. Progesterone metabolism and parturition may be correlated with these lipid changes, thus identifying patients about to enter labor.
