ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACID STATUS IN PLASMA PHOSPHOLIPIDS OF MOTHER AND NEONATE AFTER MULTIPLE PREGNANCY

During singleton pregnancy, maternal essential fatty acid (EFA) status decreases progressively. After multiple pregnancy it can be expected that the neonatal and maternal EFA status is even lower. To study whet her the maternal EFA supply to the fetus is a limiting factor to the n eonatal EFA status, we compared the plasma phospholipid EFA status of newborn multiplets (30 pairs of twins and 7 sets of triplets) with tha t of singletons (n = 89) at birth and that of their mothers at deliver y. After correction for gestational age, a slightly lower EFA status w as found in maternal and umbilical plasma from multiplets compared to singletons. No relation was found between the difference in birthweigh t of the smallest and the largest neonate of a set of multiplets and t he difference in cord plasma EFA levels. Correlations between maternal and umbilical plasma EFA levels were comparable for multiple and sing leton pregnancies. Therefore, adequate dietary intake is required to g uarantee an optimal neonatal EFA status, especially during multiple pr egnancy.