Gennser G, Ohrlander S, Eneroth P
Ciba Found Symp. 1977(47):401-26. doi: 10.1002/9780470720295.ch17.
The role of the fetal adrenal activity in the initiation of parturition in the human has been investigated. Women were studied in the last trimester of pregnancy during treatment with betamethasone for prevention of the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome. Although betamethasone caused a considerable drop in the cortisol concentrations of fetal plasma and amniotic fluid, the time to spontaneous delivery in this group was similar to that in matched controls. Moreover, cortisol in fetal scalp blood at the onset of parturition in untreated women did not differ between those with spontaneous and those with induced labour. Evidence is given that increase of circulating cortisol in the fetus during the course of parturition predominantly reflects a rise in maternal cortisol under the influence of labour. The strain of labour seems to partly override the betamethasone-induced inhibition of maternal cortisol release. The possible ability of the fetal adrenals to respond to stimuli is illustrated by comparison of cortisol concentrations in cord plasma after various forms of complicated deliveries.
胎儿肾上腺活动在人类分娩发动中的作用已得到研究。对妊娠晚期接受倍他米松治疗以预防特发性呼吸窘迫综合征的女性进行了研究。尽管倍他米松导致胎儿血浆和羊水的皮质醇浓度大幅下降，但该组自发分娩的时间与匹配的对照组相似。此外，未接受治疗的女性在分娩开始时，胎儿头皮血中的皮质醇在自然分娩和引产的女性之间并无差异。有证据表明，分娩过程中胎儿循环皮质醇的增加主要反映了在分娩影响下母体皮质醇的升高。分娩的应激似乎部分克服了倍他米松诱导的母体皮质醇释放抑制。通过比较各种复杂分娩后脐血血浆中的皮质醇浓度，说明了胎儿肾上腺对刺激做出反应的可能能力。
