The clinical relevance of stress biomarkers in newborns is well established. Currently,
oxidative stress (OS) parameters are seen to play an important role in neonatal resuscitation guidelines,
and a link has been observed between the amount of oxygen delivered and the level of OS and the
development of various pathologies. The aim of the current study was to investigate changes in
neonatal plasma and urine OS status during the first hours after birth. A lower antioxidant capacity
(TAC) and higher levels of malondialdehyde in blood were observed in newborns at the time of
birth compared with results 48 h postnatally. The urine revealed a significant and progressive
increase in TAC and creatinine during the first 36 h of life, with a progressive decline thereafter.
Meanwhile, malondialdehyde in urine samples showed no significant differences over time. Overall,
the correlation between blood and urine parameters was poor, except for the relationship between
umbilical vein glutathione reduced/oxidized ratio and urine malondialdehyde (r = 0.7; p = 0.004)
and between TAC in the umbilical artery and urine (r = −0.547; p = 0.013). The biomarkers evaluated
in this study could be established as reference values for neonatal OS.
