Maternal Parity and Blood Oxidative Stress in Mother and Neonate

Background: Parturition has been associated with free radicals, itself linked with poor pregnancy outcome. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers levels of maternal and cord blood samples at the second stage of labor with the maternal parity number. Materials and Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, subjects were selected from Fatemieh teaching hospital, Hamadan, Iran, and allocated into the two groups according to their number of parity: the primiparous group (n = 33), and multiparous group (n = 35). Maternal and umbilical cord blood samples were taken from all subjects and then assessed for catalas activity (CAT), total thiol molecules (TTM) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Results: Total antioxidant capacity levels were significantly higher in newborns of primiparous women compared to multiparous women (P = 0.006). The CAT levels were significantly lower (P = 0.04) and TAC levels significantly higher (P = 0.03) in maternal plasma of primiparous women compared to those of multiparous women. Conclusions: Increment in the number of parity can lead to decrease antioxidant defense mechanisms in multiparous women and their newborns. So, control of oxidative stress is considered to be beneficial in multiparous women. Keywords: Oxidative Stress, Antioxidants, Parity