The relationship of maternal anxiety, plasma catecholamines, and plasma cortisol to progress in labor

Serum cortisol levels in maternal venous, umbilical arterial and umbilical venous blood at delivery in the cases of fetal distress.

“…The details of the alteration of cortisol secretion when the fetus is severely stressed at delivery are still unclear. It was speculated that the level of maternal and fetal cortisol secretion changes in response to stress, such as (Maltau et al 1979), and maternal anxiety (Lederman et al 1978). Cawson et al (1974) reported that the cortisol level in MV blood was higher in vacuum extraction than in spontaneous vaginal delivery or cesarean section, and that maternal cortisol levels in spontaneous vaginal delivery were higher than those in cesarean section.…”

The effect of attending a prenatal childbirth preparedness course on labor duration and outcomes

“…Symptoms may manifest as nightmares, physical complaints and difficulties in concentrating on work or on family activities [4,6]. A possible explanation for these observations can lie in increased plasma concentrations of catecholamines often seen in states of anxiety and fear [3,[11][12][13].…”

Maternal and fetal endocrine stress response at vaginal delivery with and without an epidural block

“…It was also shown in the present study that the pain relief obtained by epidural block led to a significantly lower ACTH concentration suggesting that the mechanism by which cortisol decreases is related to the hypothalamopituitary axis. Catecholamines were slightly lower in the EA group despite the fact that primipara and prolonged duration of labor, two factors known to be associated with high levels of CA [12], occurred more often in this group of patients. SHNIDER et al [22] have recently shown that the maternal CA levels and predominantly epinephrine are reduced after epidural anesthesia.…”

“…SHNIDER et al [22] have recently shown that the maternal CA levels and predominantly epinephrine are reduced after epidural anesthesia. Elevation of epinephrine in maternal blood during labor is associated with pain and anxiety [12] suggesting that the alleviation of maternal pain is the mechanism by which epidural block decreases the maternal CA levels during labor.…”