Cortisol awakening response in pregnant women.

In this study, basal saliva cortisol was determined in women at 32 weeks of pregnancy and again at 9 months post-partum. During pregnancy, the cortisol levels of the 119 subjects were found to be elevated, with noon and evening levels more than twice as high as during the non-pregnant state. Despite the hypercortisolism, the cortisol awakening response was still present during pregnancy. Although the absolute mean increase in cortisol at 30 min post-awakening was larger during pregnancy, the relative mean increase was around 40% of the awakening level in both cases. The cortisol awakening response was not correlated between pregnancy and the post-partum, showing a lack of stability over the 11-month period. Finally, both in the pregnant and non-pregnant states, the magnitude of the cortisol awakening response was not related to time of awakening, nor to anticipation of a working vs. non-working day. In conclusion, the free cortisol awakening response is present during pregnancy, and is potentially a useful marker to study the association between prenatal psychosocial stress and offspring development.