Dahl J F
Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
J Med Primatol. 1999 Jun;28(3):129-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0684.1999.tb00260.x.
Perineal swelling during pregnancy in captive common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) was studied to examine if the swelling pattern is consistent with known fluctuations in estrogens and progesterone and to test associations between reduced swelling and pathological outcome. Analyses of swelling during 107 pregnancies with a variety of outcomes revealed that a majority of swelling patterns fit an endocrinological model closely, but that a small minority (6.6%) from low parity mothers had exaggerated and extended swelling, suggesting an altered sensitivity of the swelling to steroids. Disregarding this extreme minority, swelling was found to be significantly reduced from that of normal outcome pregnancies for sub-groups with varying degrees of maternal incompetence, neonatal fatality, and stillbirth. This reduction was most marked for pregnancies in nursery-reared mothers. Given the validity of the correspondence between swelling patterns and steroid concentrations, lower estrogen concentrations are implicated in the etiology of the puerperal pathologies seen. That steroid hormone concentrations during pregnancy may influence maternal behavior in apes provides a clue to the etiology of post-partum depression in women.
对圈养普通黑猩猩（黑猩猩属）孕期会阴肿胀情况进行了研究，以检验肿胀模式是否与已知的雌激素和孕酮波动情况相符，并测试肿胀减轻与病理结果之间的关联。对107次不同结局的孕期肿胀情况分析表明，大多数肿胀模式与内分泌模型高度吻合，但少数（6.6%）初产母亲的肿胀异常增大且持续时间延长，这表明肿胀对类固醇的敏感性发生了改变。忽略这一极端少数情况后，研究发现，对于存在不同程度母体功能不全、新生儿死亡和死产的亚组，肿胀程度相较于正常结局的孕期显著减轻。这种减轻在由保育箱饲养的母亲所怀的孕期最为明显。鉴于肿胀模式与类固醇浓度之间对应关系的有效性，较低的雌激素浓度与所观察到的产褥期病理病因有关。孕期类固醇激素浓度可能会影响猿类的母体行为，这为女性产后抑郁症的病因提供了线索。
