Vitamin E levels in pregnant Nigerian women and newborn.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) concentrations were measured at various stages of gestation and at delivery in a group of Nigerian women who were not given any vitamin supplements during pregnancy. Levels in the third trimester of pregnancy were found to be significantly higher than in the first and second trimesters (P less than 0.001). There were no correlations between mean maternal vitamin E levels at delivery and the corresponding mean cord plasma levels. However, the mean maternal vitamin E level at delivery was nearly five times higher than the mean cord plasma level. The mean cord plasma vitamin E was found to increase with increase in the mean birthweight but the maternal vitamin E levels did not show any consistent pattern with infant sex or birthweight.