Vitamin C Aids Pregnancy

Daily vitamin C supplementscan reduce the risk of rupture ofthe membranes that enclose thefetus and amniotic fluid, accordingto the results of a study fromthe National Institute of Perinatologyin Mexico City. Investigatorspursued the results of previousstudies, which had beenunable to determine whether theaddition of vitamin C during pregnancywould help reduce the riskof premature rupture of membranes(PROM). PROM is consideredto be responsible for atleast 40% of all cases of pretermlabor.

The researchers randomly assigned120 pregnant women totake 100 mg of vitamin C or aninactive placebo daily, starting atthe 20th week of gestation.Among the 109 women whocompleted the study, vitamin Clevels increased in the supplementgroup and decreased in theplacebo group. PROM occurredin only 4 of 52 pregnancies (8%)in the vitamin C group, comparedwith 14 of 57 pregnancies (25%)among the placebo group. Theinvestigators concluded, however,that vitamin C supplementsmay be important to maintaininga pregnancy to term.