Hormonal Effects on Pain Perception

Completed

Conditions studied: Pregnancy, Progesterone Levels, Pregnancy Associated Analgesia

In brief

To investigate if labor pain is affected by mother's hormone levels. The hormonal effects of pregnancy are well documented. Although differences in pain sensitivity between women and men are partly attributable to social conditioning and to psychosocial factors, many laboratory studies of humans have described sex differences in sensitivity to noxious stimuli, suggesting that biological mechanisms underlie such differences. Some animal studies have suggested that sensitivity to pain decreases during pregnancy because of the progressive activation of endogenous pain inhibitory systems. This effect may be mediated by pregnancy-associated hormones, in particular progesterone.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00699595

Run by

University of Alabama at Birmingham

People needed

50

Starts

2008-09-01

Expected to finish

2014-11-01

Last updated by the study team

2014-11-11

Who can join

Age: 19 and older, up to 45. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• healthy pregnant women at term (>37GA)

You may not qualify if…

• chronic pain
• regular analgesic medication
• severe cardiopulmonary problems
• very difficult intravenous access
• advanced labor
• precipitous delivery

Where it is running

• University of Alabama at Birmingham — Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.