Nutritional status and unfavourable pregnancy outcome in Egyptian women

The nutritional status in 43 cases of repeated spontaneous (habitual and threatened) abortion with both favorable and unfavorable results was assessed by the 24-hour recall method, as compared to 19 normal terminating pregnancies, all of which were in women of low socioeconomic class and who were considered to be malnourished. All pregnant women were monitored at 2 points during gestation, namely 6-12 weeks and 12-16 weeks, by measuring human chorionic gonadotropin as the main hormonal marker in pregnancy and by total and fractional serum protein estimation as a biochemical probe to both the nutritional status and to the course and outcome of pregnancy. Chorionic gonadotropin was significantly decreased in cases of unfavorable outcome in both gestational periods. Apart from the usual physiological changes of pregnancy in total serum protein and its fractions, a significant increase of the beta globulin fraction in the earlier gestational period only was observed. This increase corresponded to and was inversely proportional to the decreased levels of hCG. The authors therefore suggest the introduction of serum protein electrophoresis as a simple routine procedure for screening high risk pregnancies and thus, the early prediction of unfavorable pregnancy outcome.