[Changes in the immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM in pregnancy and the puerperium]

Zentralblatt Fur Gynakologie
|January 1, 1984
PubMed

Immunoglobulin IgG, IgA and IgM levels in maternal serum of 16 healthy pregnant women are analysed between 7th and 37th week (n = 95) and additionally at second day after delivery. Serum immunoglobulin concentrations of 54 healthy non-pregnant young women are the base for laboratory-specific normal levels. IgA and IgG raise at the beginning of pregnancy and decrease after 17th week; IgA levels after 20th week of pregnancy are not different from concentrations of non-pregnant women. Compared to this, IgG levels fall below the prepregnancy niveau significantly. This continuous decrease lasts anabatedly till the second day following delivery. On the contrary, IgM decrease immediately with starting pregnancy, whereas the following decrease is unessential. After delivery levels rise rapidly. A shortlasting decrease of the concentration of all three immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM with consecutive increase between the 11th and 14th gestational week is a special characteristic sign.

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