Maternal plasma and urinary hormone levels during and after a successful abdominal pregnancy.

In a successful abdominal pregnancy, urinary oestriol levels were about the fifth centile, but other hormone concentrations suggested that placental function was normal until 32 weeks gestation. After that, plasma oestrogen concentrations levelled off and plasma placental lactogen concentrations declined. Pre-eclampsia developed at 34 weeks and necessitated the delivery at 36 weeks and 2 days of a live normal female infant by laparotomy. The placenta was not removed. All hormone levels fell rapidly during the first weeks of the puerperium and then more slowly during the next six weeks to non-pregnancy levels. Plasma progesterone, urinary pregnanediol, and plasma oestradiol were the slowest to return to non-pregnant levels.