AMNIOTIC-FLUID ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS IN TERM MOZAMBICAN AND SWEDISH PREGNANT-WOMEN

Randomly selected parturients with term singleton pregnancies from two different settings, 83 from Mozambique and 90 from Sweden, entered th e study. All of them underwent elective cesarean section, which enable d sterile harvesting of amniotic fluid (AF). AF samples were then test ed for antibacterial activity (ABA). Background data and nutritional s tatus were compared. Average age was 32.7 and 30.7 years (n.s.), avera ge parity 6.6 and 1.6 (p < 0.0001), average number of antenatal visits 4.9 and 11.6 (p < 0.0001), and average birthweight 3,194 and 3,688 g (p < 0.01), respectively. Body mass index, mid-upper-arm circumference and hemoglobin did not show any significant differences. The average ABA of AF was more than 50% higher in Swedish than in Mozambican speci mens Cp < 0.0001). Less than one-sixth of Mozambican women reached the average ABA of AF from Swedish women. Bacterial outgrowth delay equal to or above 3 h was encountered in 13% of Mozambican AF as against 61 % of Swedish AF (OR 0.10; 95% CI 0.05-0.19). Histopathological examina tions of the placenta, nonplacental membranes and umbilical cord showe d inflammatory lesions in 29% of the Mozambican parturients and in 13% of Swedish parurients (OR 2.65; 95% 1.00-6.98). It is probable that t he lower antibacterial activity in Mozambican AFs reflects an increase d vulnerability to ascending genital infections during late pregnancy.