MATERNAL ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACID PATTERNS DURING NORMAL-PREGNANCY AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE NEONATAL ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACID STATUS

Although essential fatty acids (EFA) and their longer chain, more unsa turated derivatives play a major role during pregnancy, hardly any inf ormation is available with respect to the course of the maternal EFA s tatus during an uncomplicated pregnancy and its relationship to the ne onatal EFA status. Therefore, a longitudinal study was started in whic h 110 pregnant women gave repeated blood samples from the 10th week of gestation until delivery. After birth a blood sample from the umbilic al vein and a maternal venous blood sample were collected as well, and 6 months after delivery a final blood sample from the mother was take n, The absolute (mg/l) and relative (% total fatty acids) amounts of t he fatty acids in plasma phospholipids were determined, The total amou nts of fatty acids increased significantly during pregnancy, This patt ern was similar for the individual fatty acids and fatty acid families , The relative amount of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) did not change during pregnancy, whereas the relative amount of arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) decreased, Despite maternal mobilization of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3, DHA), suggested by a temporary increase in the DHA status until 1 8 weeks gestation, the DHA status steadily declined thereafter, This p attern was associated with a progressive increase in the DHA deficienc y index in maternal blood throughout pregnancy and resulted in a sub-o ptimal neonatal DHA status, The overall maternal EFA status also decli ned steadily during pregnancy, Therefore, the question arises whether the mother, under the prevailing dietary conditions, is able to meet t he high fetal requirement for EFA.