[Vitamins C and E in neonates and their mothers]

During the spring months serum levels of vitamin C and E were investigated in 49 women at the end of pregnancy and in their infants at the delivery and on the fifth day after birth. The authors found that 23.3% of the pregnant women (n = 43) who gave birth to mature, normal neonates were not adequately saturated with vitamin C during the spring months. Almost 13% of the infants (12.8%) had lower vitamin C levels on the fifth day after delivery. Two thirds of the mothers (67%) of premature infants (n = 6) had low vitamin C levels. The vitamin E levels in the pregnant women were adequate, 38% of the five-day-old infants had reduced vitamin E levels.