The Maternal, Cord Blood and Neonatal Serum Ischemia-Modified Albumin Levels in Different Modes of Delivery

Abstract

Background: Human serum albumin modifies in response to ischemic events and affinity of N-terminal decreases for metal especially for cobalt. This modification results in the formation of ischemia modified albumin (IMA). The IMA rises immediately after ischemic event and remains high for several hours after cessation of ischemia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mode of delivery on the IMA levels in mothers and their term infants, and to determine which mode causes much oxidative stress. Study Design: The cases were grouped according to the mode of delivery: vaginal delivery group (VD, n=40) and cesarean group (C/S, n=40). The serum samples were collected from mothers before delivery (pre-delivery), from the cord blood (CB) and from the infants at the 24th hour after birth according to the following criteria: (1) singleton live birth, (2) gestational age between 37- 41 6/7 weeks, (3) birth weight of 2500 and 4000 g, and (4) Apgar scores ≥ 8 at 5 min. The IMA levels of both groups were compared. Results: The pre-delivery serum IMA levels were similar between two groups. The cord blood IMA levels were significantly higher in C/S group than those with VD group (0.694±0.113 vs 0.642±0.084, p=0.021). The serum IMA levels were higher in infants born by C/S compared with those born by VD, but the result was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our results showed the IMA levels in infants and cord blood was influenced by the way of delivery and supported that oxidative stress is reduced in vaginally delivered infants.