Folates in the Maternal and Neonatal Serum

SEVERAL AUTHORS report that the serum folic acid (SeFA) in pregnancy is exceptionally low, but a simultaneous megaloblastic hematopoiesis is, however, seldom encountered.5 Folate added to routine iron prophylaxis does not improve the hemoglobin and packed cell volume values, at least not in cases in which there are no disturbing factors in the pregnancy. ' For this reason the administration of folates during pregnancy is usually not included in routine prophylaxis. The situation may be different from the neonate's point of view. The SeFA of the umbilical cord blood is 3.5 times higher" and that of the serum is 2.6 times higher than the corresponding maternal levels. Furthermore, the neonates whose mothers had low SeFA levels have, themselves, been found to show unusually low SeFA values as well. There is every reason, therefore, to investigate the SeFA distribution between the mother and the fetus in some detail, with a view to ascertaining whether the folate prophylaxis given to meet the mother's needs should not also be assessed according to the neonate's requirements.