Pregnancy Hypertension Proceedings of the First Congress of the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, Held at University College, Dublin, on 27-29 September 1978

Plasma catecholamines were estimated late in the second stage of labour and before fetal expulsion in three groups of pregnancies: I. Normal pregnancies at term. 2. Pregnancies complicated by severe pre-eclampsia, under medical control in hospital for 2-5 weeks and induced at 37-39 weeks of pregnancy. 3. Pregnancies complicated by severe pre-eclampsia went into labour at term with no previous control to their toxaemias. Plasma catecholamines were determined in the maternal and cord blood, late in the second stage of labour and within 12 hours after delivery. Plasma catecholamines showed a highly significant rise in the maternal blood collected during the second stage of labour, after delivery, and in the cord blood, in pregnancies complicated with severe pre-eclampsia with no previous control when compared to normal pregnancy. The figures for the medically controlled severe pre-eclampsia had also presented a significant rise when correlated with the normal pregnancy. We can say that the adrenal medulla shares in the stress phenomenon during labour. Such stress is worse in pre-eclamptic patients, particularly the uncontrolled pre-eclam psia. The fetal adrenal also shares in the stress phenomenon in pre-eclampsia.