Changes in urinary 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α excretion during pregnancy and labor

Urinary excretion of 6-keto-PGF1α was measured by high pressure liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay at various stages of pregnancy and labor. In the first trimester of pregnancy, urinary 6-keto-PGF1α concentrations were nor different from those measured before pregnancy, but they showed a significant increase in the second trimester of pregnancy (p <0.001). The levels rose further in the third trimester, although this increase was not statistically significant when compared to levels obtained in the second trimester. There was no evidence for a significance change in 6-keto-PGF1α excretion with the onset of labor. During well-established, progressive labor mean values of 6-keto-PGF1α excretion were about twice as high as before the onset of labor, but the range of values during labor was so wide that there was no statistical difference with values obtained in the second half of pregnancy.