Elsevier

Early Human Development

Volume 46, Issues 1–2, 20 September 1996, Pages 97-104
Early Human Development

Lactate in cord blood and its relationship to pH and catecholamines in spontaneous vaginal deliveries

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-3782(96)01746-XGet rights and content

Abstract

The interrelationships between lactate and pH, noradrenaline (NA), adrenaline (A) and dopamine (DA) were investigated in cord artery (CA) and vein (CV) blood at delivery. Sixty consecutive, spontaneous, vaginal deliveries with fetuses in cephalic presentation were assessed. Median gestational age at delivery was 40 weeks (range, 35–43). There were significant correlations between lactate and pH (P < 0.01), NA (P < 0.01), A (P < 0.05) and arterio-venous NA (P < 0.05) and DA differences (P < 0.01) in CA blood, while no variable correlated significantly to lactate in CV blood. The higher levels both of lactate and of catecholamines in CA blood are probably fetally derived. Dividing the material into high and low lactate subgroups (cut-off level, 75th percentile) showed a high lactate level to be associated with lower pH and higher catecholamine levels in CA blood, though the relationship was only statistically significant for pH. The levels both of catecholamines and of lactate were lower than those reported for cases of fetal distress, and reflect the lower level of fetal stress in the present series of normal deliveries. The low level of fetal stress and the differences in turnover rates between catecholamines and lactate might obscure their causal relationships, vis-á-vis fetal adaptation to extrauterine life during the course of parturition.

References (28)

  • C.J. Graff et al.

    Catecholamine response to intracranial hypertension

    J. Neurosurg.

    (1978)
  • K. Hägnevik et al.

    Catecholamine surge and metabolic adaptation in the newborn after vaginal delivery and cesarean section

    Acta Paediatr. Scand.

    (1984)
  • L. Irestedt et al.

    Causes and consequences of maternal and fetal sympathoadrenal activation during parturition

    Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. (Suppl.)

    (1984)
  • C.T. Jones

    Circulating catecholamines in the fetus, their origin, action and significance

  • Cited by (17)

    • Venous blood gas parameters in healthy Mediterranean buffalo calves in the first 72 hours of life

      2020, Theriogenology
      Citation Excerpt :

      This increase could be induced by the mechanism of parturition. During parturition, an increase in catecholamine secretion was found [43]. These hormones seemed responsible for the glucose increase directly by improving the glycogenolysis via the glucagon release, and indirectly inhibiting insulin secretion [44,45], with glucose availability of both aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis.

    • Placental distribution of endogenous and exogenous substances: A pilot study utilizing cryo-sampled specimen off delivery room

      2020, Placenta
      Citation Excerpt :

      However, higher levels of Cr, Fe, and PCBs were observed in this study [35–37], probably due to the differences in exposure level, blood content, potential contamination during sampling, and sample size. NE in cord blood measured here was about 10 times lower compared with previous study while DA was higher [38]. Monoamines were < LOD in all placenta samples, probably because of the high monoamine oxidase activity in placenta [39].

    • Lactate in cord blood and its relation to fetal gluconeogenesis in at term deliveries

      2015, Early Human Development
      Citation Excerpt :

      Experimental animal data have suggested that lactate concentration is better than pH in predicting hypoxic process and neonatal morbidity [6]. In the human fetus, increased lactate and glucose levels can be anticipated when hypoxia and stress are present and is likely to be a function of both anaerobic metabolism [7–9] and catecholamine-mediated glycogenolysis/glycolysis [10–12]., Interpreting cord blood lactate and glucose levels is therefore complex [13].

    • Amniotic fluid and blood lactate concentrations in mares and foals in the early postpartum period

      2012, Theriogenology
      Citation Excerpt :

      The mean blood lactate concentration of the foals decreased during the first 24 h of life. The high concentration measured at birth, and also reported in human newborns [20,41], could be due to the release of cortisol and catecholamine [42–44] or to physiological hypoxia during the birth process. This is supported by the very low arterial lactate concentration of the equine fetus (1.0 ± 0.20 mmol/L) from mid to late gestation [10].

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text