A number of recent epidemiological findings have implicated magnesium as being essential to fetal well-being. Few studies, however, have examined the relationship between maternal requirements for dietary magnesium and subsequent mortality and morbidity in offspring. The present study uses a rodent model of dietary-induced hypomagnesemia to investigate the effects of magnesium deficiency prior to and during gestation on neonatal morbidity and mortality. Magnesium deficiency during gestation significantly increased neonatal mortality and morbidity. Such increases were associated with a reduced free magnesium concentration in both maternal and offspring blood and an increased incidence of periventricular hemorrhage and edema in newborn pups as observed by magnetic resonance imaging and histology. Animals fed a magnesium-deficient diet before mating but given magnesium supplementation during gestation did not demonstrate a significant change in neonatal mortality and morbidity when compared to control animals. The significant improvement in fetal outcome with dietary magnesium supports the concept of magnesium supplementation during pregnancy.

Summary. Maternal serum zinc concentrations were estimated during 244 normal pregnancies and 15 abnormal pregnancies. The serum zinc concentrations were lower in the anencephalic pregnancies than in the normal control subjects. The serum zinc levels in women whose pregnancies terminated in a spontaneous abortion were normal. There was no variation of serum zinc level with gestational age between 15 to 18 weeks in normal pregnancies.

We estimated copper concentration in maternal serum during 244 normal and 15 abnormal pregnancies. Values were lower in the abnormal pregnancies than in the normal ones, and did not vary with gestational age between 15 to 18 weeks in normal pregnancies.