Acute recurrent polyhydramnios and amniotic prolactin.

A 25 year-old patient in her third pregnancy presented with acute polyhydramnios at 24 weeks' gestation, which was the same time as in the two previous pregnancies. In both she had preterm premature rupture of membranes, preterm delivery and neonatal deaths. In the third pregnancy, amnioreductions combined with medical treatment resulted in the birth by Caesarean section of a normally formed live male at 31 weeks of pregnancy. Acute recurrent polyhydramnios is an extremely rare condition of unknown aetiology. We hypothesized that amniotic prolactin plays a role in this pathology. It was measured serially in amniotic fluid and high levels were found.