Plasma lipids and high density lipoprotein cholesterol in maternal and umbilical vessels in twin pregnancies.

Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), Unesterified cholesterol (UC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were measured in 30 plasmas from twin pregnant women and their newborns, and 60 maternal single infant pairs. Blood samples were obtained simultaneously from maternal vein, umbilical artery and umbilical vein at the moment of partum. TG from twin pregnant mothers was much higher and HDL-C lower than that from single pregnant maternal plasma TC, TG and PL in umbilical cord vessels showed no differences between twin and single newborns. There was a weak, but statistically significant, positive correlation between maternal and fetal levels of PL in both groups. A high difference between TC, TG and PL in umbilical venous and umbilical arterial plasma was found These data suggest that some fetal lipid moieties derived from maternal plasma. But data about fetal body composition indicate that contribution of maternal lipids to the fetus is of small quantitative importance.