Abstract

This study concerns 11 patients with menstrual disorders dating back to an obstructed and prolonged labour, and 5 women with similar histories but without menstrual disorders. All patients were able to secrete gonadotrophins. According to the gonadotrophin pattern, the patients could be divided into three groups: in the amenorrhoeic and in 2 normally menstruating women various degrees of suppression of basal and peak levels of luteinising hormone (LH) could be observed; patients with infrequent menstrual periods showed temporarily arrested secretion of gonadotrophins and ovarian steroids; and in polymerrhoea a non-cyclic but high secretion was seen. The gonadotrophin response to oestrogen levels was temporarily or permanently disordered in all but 3 patients in this series, whereas an ovarian refractoriness to gonadotrophins was only infrequently observed. There were 2 cases of 'ovulatory amenorrhoea' as judged by the normal profiles of ovarian steroids. Biopsies indicated inadequate endometrial transformation in many cases of amenorrhoea. Abnormal responses to the stimulatory tests of pituitary secretion of human growth hormone (HGH) and/or LH were seen in 6 patients. The study suggests that menstrual disorders after obstructed labour are associated with derangement of different hypophyseotrophic areas of the hypothalamus.