AMNIOTIC-FLUID PHOSPHOLIPID PROFILE AS A PREDICTOR OF FETAL MATURITY IN DIABETIC PREGNANCIES

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 54  (6) , 703-707
Abstract
Phospholipids in amniotic fluid from diabetic pregnancies were compared with those in normal pregnancies. There was little difference in lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratios on the basis of gestational ages. In diabetic pregnancies, phosphatidylglycerol (PG) was absent or low and phosphatidylinositol (PI) remained high even if the L/S ratio was > 2. The phosphatidylglycerol/phosphatidylinositol (PG/PI) ratio was expressed as a function of the L/S ratio. The PG/PI ratio was significantly lower in maternal diabetes. Respiratory distress syndrome coincided with the L/S ratio from 2.0-3.0 only when PG was absent. Infants of insulin-dependent diabetic mothers with a particularly low PG/PI ratio (< 50% of the median), had higher relative birth weights and more often had hypoglycemia than infants born to mothers with a high PG/PI ratio (> 200% of the median). Amniotic fluid phospholipids correlate with fetal functional maturity and may reflect deviations of hormonal balance required for normal perinatal development.

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