Rise of plasma corticosterone concentrations in rats immediately before and after birth and in fetal rats after the ligation of maternal uterine blood vessels or of the umbilical cord.

Just before normal vaginal delivery the plasma corticosterone concentration (PCC) in fetal rats increased markedly compared with that on day 22 of gestation. The PCC was elevated 2 h after birth and then declined until 12 h after birth, when it approached the level found on day 22 of gestation. Similarly, in premature newborn rats obtained by cesarean delivery on days 21 and 22 of gestation, the PCC increased 2 to 4 h after delivery and then declined. The PCC in 22-day-old fetal rats, 30 min after ligation of the maternal blood vessels running along a uterine horn, rose markedly compared with that in fetuses in the contralateral intact horn. A similar increase in PCC was not observed in either decapitated or encephalectomized fetuses, but observed in fetuses whose umbilical cords were ligated. The rise in fetal PCC after ligation of uterine blood vessels and of umbilical cords was considerably higher than that observed after various stresses reported by other investigators and also higher than that found 60 min after maternal adrenalectomy. The rise in PCC just before and just after birth and after the ligation should not be considered as the result of stress, parturition or ligation, but may be a result of the response to other factors.