[Labor stress and postpartum neonatal weight development].

55 years ago the term "stress" was defined as a general reaction pattern which, in moderation, is not only unharmful but even has a vital function. Does this also apply to intrapartal fetal stress? The results from a retrospective pilot study including 791 mature newborns without major disorders are presented to stimulate discussion and possibly give rise to prospective studies. 1. Newborns from primigravidas with labour spanning more than 12 hours incurred postpartal weight loss in excess of 5% of their birthweight only half as often as infants with shorter delivery periods. In other words, a longer expulsion phase tended to be correlated with lower postpartal weight loss in neonates. 2. As expected, the 1-minute-Apgar score was no statistically valid predictive parameter for the adaptation phase in the first 5 postpartal days of newborns. Infants with 1-minute Apgar scores of up to 6 had reached their birth-weight on the 5th postpartal day rather more often than those with better 1-minute Apgar scores. 3. In the group of mature newborns involving premature rupture of the membranes a marked gain on birthweight up to the 5th postpartal day was seen only half as often as in the group with rupture of membranes at term. 4. Weight loss of only slight proportions was seen in newborns admitted to the pediatric hospital because of suspected intra-amniotic infection half as often, compared to the other infants who also reached their birthweight faster than those with suspected intra-amniotic infection. 5. Oxytocin administered to aid labour had a positive effect on postpartal weight development.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)