IRON, ZINC AND VITAMIN-C NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IS NOT RELATED TO WEIGHT-GAIN IN PREGNANT-WOMEN

To evaluate if the pregestational body mass index (BMI) and weight gai n during pregnancy permits the identification of cases with high risk of developing specific nutrient deficiencies (iron, zinc, vitamin C), a follow-up study was done on a group of apparently healthy pregnant w omen, evaluated at weeks 16, 24 and 34. Pregestational weight was reca lled by the women, while gestational weight and height were measured. Hemoglobin, leukocyte vitamin C and serum zinc and ferritin were deter mined from venous blood samples. The sample was divided for analysis a ccording to BMI and gestational weight gain. A total of 82 women was e valuated. All women showing hemoglobin less than or equal to 125 g/L w ere supplemented with ferrous sulfate. Hemoglobin and zinc concentrati ons remained relatively constant during the whole period, while ferrit in and vitamin C tended to decrease. Weight gain during pregnancy tend ed to compensate for pregestational weight, with no significant differ ences. The prevalence of nutrition deficiencies was between 60-90% for hemoglobin and ferritin, 15-35% for zinc and 64-88% for vitamin C. Th e classification according to pregestational BMI and weight gain durin g pregnancy did not discriminate between those women with low or high concentrations of any of the nutrients evaluated. The results of the p resent study suggest that a biochemical evaluation of nutritional stat us should be done systematically during pregnancy to detect specific n utrient deficiencies according to prevalence of specific deficiencies in the studied population, as pregestational BMI and weight gain durin g pregnancy lack the sensitivity to detect the risk for some of these deficiencies.