Salivary oxytocin responses in mothers and full-term newborns in early skin-to-skin contact for the first 2 hours after birth: Effects of synthetic oxytocin administration and epidural analgesia in labor
Aya Tomita, Kaori Yonezawa, Yuriko Usui, Megumi Haruna
{"title":"Salivary oxytocin responses in mothers and full-term newborns in early skin-to-skin contact for the first 2 hours after birth: Effects of synthetic oxytocin administration and epidural analgesia in labor","authors":"Aya Tomita, Kaori Yonezawa, Yuriko Usui, Megumi Haruna","doi":"10.1016/j.npep.2025.102567","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Epidural analgesia with synthetic oxytocin reduces maternal oxytocin levels in the early postpartum period. However, whether maternal and neonatal endogenous oxytocin levels in the first 2 h after birth are affected by drug administration during labor is unknown.</div></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><div>To determine the effect of drug administration during labor on maternal–newborn salivary oxytocin levels after birth.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This cohort study was conducted on 62 stable primiparous mother–newborn pairs after vaginal birth. Saliva samples were collected approximately 30 (pre-skin-to-skin contact), 60 (during skin-to-skin contact), and 120 (post-skin-to-skin contact) minutes after birth. Mother–newborn pairs were stratified by medical interventions during labor: non-drug, oxytocin-only, and epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin groups. A mixed-effects model was used to evaluate the log-transformed salivary oxytocin levels among the three groups at each repeated measure.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Maternal oxytocin levels of the epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin group (β = − 0.384, standard error = 0.113) were significantly lower than those of the non-drug group at 30 min (<em>p</em> < 0.001). The group-time interaction analysis showed that the changes in salivary oxytocin levels in the oxytocin-only and epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin groups differed from those in the non-drug group at 60 and 120 min. Newborn oxytocin levels did not significantly differ.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Drug administration during labor may reduce maternal salivary oxytocin levels in the first 2 h after birth. Healthcare professionals should provide information on different approaches, such as a non-pharmacologic approach, for pain relief for primipara during labor.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19254,"journal":{"name":"Neuropeptides","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 102567"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Neuropeptides","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143417925000678","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/10/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Epidural analgesia with synthetic oxytocin reduces maternal oxytocin levels in the early postpartum period. However, whether maternal and neonatal endogenous oxytocin levels in the first 2 h after birth are affected by drug administration during labor is unknown.
Aim
To determine the effect of drug administration during labor on maternal–newborn salivary oxytocin levels after birth.
Methods
This cohort study was conducted on 62 stable primiparous mother–newborn pairs after vaginal birth. Saliva samples were collected approximately 30 (pre-skin-to-skin contact), 60 (during skin-to-skin contact), and 120 (post-skin-to-skin contact) minutes after birth. Mother–newborn pairs were stratified by medical interventions during labor: non-drug, oxytocin-only, and epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin groups. A mixed-effects model was used to evaluate the log-transformed salivary oxytocin levels among the three groups at each repeated measure.
Results
Maternal oxytocin levels of the epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin group (β = − 0.384, standard error = 0.113) were significantly lower than those of the non-drug group at 30 min (p < 0.001). The group-time interaction analysis showed that the changes in salivary oxytocin levels in the oxytocin-only and epidural analgesia-with-oxytocin groups differed from those in the non-drug group at 60 and 120 min. Newborn oxytocin levels did not significantly differ.
Conclusions
Drug administration during labor may reduce maternal salivary oxytocin levels in the first 2 h after birth. Healthcare professionals should provide information on different approaches, such as a non-pharmacologic approach, for pain relief for primipara during labor.
期刊介绍:
The aim of Neuropeptides is the rapid publication of original research and review articles, dealing with the structure, distribution, actions and functions of peptides in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The explosion of research activity in this field has led to the identification of numerous naturally occurring endogenous peptides which act as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, or trophic factors, to mediate nervous system functions. Increasing numbers of non-peptide ligands of neuropeptide receptors have been developed, which act as agonists or antagonists in peptidergic systems.
The journal provides a unique opportunity of integrating the many disciplines involved in all neuropeptide research. The journal publishes articles on all aspects of the neuropeptide field, with particular emphasis on gene regulation of peptide expression, peptide receptor subtypes, transgenic and knockout mice with mutations in genes for neuropeptides and peptide receptors, neuroanatomy, physiology, behaviour, neurotrophic factors, preclinical drug evaluation, clinical studies, and clinical trials.