Stillbirth rates and folic acid and zinc status in low-socioeconomic pregnant women of Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Twenty-five women in their first trimester and 25 women in their third trimester of pregnancy were randomly chosen from the slum areas of eight towns in the Brazilian Amazon (Manaus, Sao Luis, Boa Vista, Porto Velho, Sao Gabriel, Santarem, Tefe, and Benjamin Constant). Blood samples were removed from the subjects for folic acid and zinc analyses, and the women were asked questions about whether they had suffered from complications during previous pregnancies. It was found that the stillbirth rates reported ranged from 0 to 20/1000 pregnancies. The town that had the highest stillbirth rate (Santarem) also had the highest percentage of women with deficient erythrocyte (red blood cell, RBC) folate status. All of the women in Santarem also had deficient serum folate levels in both trimesters of pregnancy, as well as the lowest average RBC folate value in the third trimester of pregnancy. The same town was also one of two in which the pregnant women had the lowest mean serum zinc levels in the third trimester.