The concentration of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and its metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol (MHPG) and vanillyl mandelic acid (VMA), and prostaglandins E₂, and F_2Α in amniotic fluid were measured at labor (1–3 cm of cervical dilatation), in uncomplicated and complicated pregnancies. The amniotic fluid concentration (mean ± SD) of MHPG in maternal smoking (S) (30.6 ± 11.9 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (36.7 ± 15.2 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) groups is significantly higher than in uncomplicated pregnancies (C) (22.9 ± 8.8 nmol·mg creatinine^––1), or diabetes mellitus groups (D) (26.1 ± 10.9 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) groups; VMA presents similar differences between groups S (145.8 ± 84.4 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) and IUGR (173.0 ± 135.4 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) higher than C (58.3 ± 26.1 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) and D (76.8 ± 49.0 nmol·mg creatinine^––1) groups. NE levels differ between groups in a similar way, but DA does not present significant differences between groups. Prostaglandin levels are higher in the S than in the C group. Nicotine action and/or hypoxia are proposed as a possible cause of NE, MHPG, and VMA rise in amniotic fluid of S, and IUGR versus C or D groups.

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