Lactate in Labour (LiL) v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Measuring Lactate Levels in Labour: A feasibility study
IRAS ID
345731
Contact name
Abi Merriel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Lactic acid (or lactate) is an important blood test that is used both inside and outside of pregnancy as a marker for oxygen levels in organs.
We often use this blood test if we suspect a life-threatening infection (sepsis). When a patient has a level above 2, we treat them with strong antibiotics. During labour, we use this same test with the same cut off, which may not be the right thing to do.
During labour, lactate levels rise gradually with the normal changes to the body. If a woman in labour is then suspected to have an infection, using lactic acid levels to make decisions is difficult, as she may have a high lactate level even if she does not have a serious infection.
This project aims to see if it is possible and acceptable to women and staff to run a study to find out what normal levels of lactate are during labour.
This study has 3 parts:
1) Measuring lactate during labour: We will invite women to allow us to take regular blood tests from them during their labour to measure lactate.
2) Understanding how women and staff feel about women taking part in the study: we will interview 20 women and 10 midwives to understand what they think, we will ask all women and midwives to complete a short questionnaire.
3) Understanding why women do not want to take part: we will ask women who decide not to take part if they will be interviewed to help us understand why.
We will use this information to decide if it is possible to run a large study, and what size it should be.
During the study we will hold five parent involvement group meetings to discuss the study, its results and gain input into future plans.REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
25/WS/0093
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion