Serum lipids in maternal/cord blood pairs from normal and low birthweight infants in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Serum total cholesterol and triglyceride were determined in the cord blood of 54 term appropriate for gestational age, 14 preterm appropriate for gestational age and 17 small-for-dates infants and their mothers immediately after delivery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The mean serum level of total cholesterol in cord blood of term appropriate for gestational age infants was 1.9 mmol/l, whereas that from their mothers 6.

Free amino acid levels of mother and child immediately after delivery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The pattern of the free serum amino acids was analysed in 20 healthy mothers immediately after delivery and from their term appropriate for gestational age infants in cord blood. The free amino concentrations were higher in Tanzanian women, when compared to Swedish standards, whereas slightly higher or similar values were found in cord blood, resulting in a marked reduction of the fetal/maternal ratio for the individual amino acids. It is suggested that under 'basal nutritional conditions' the reduced placental gradient could be one of the compensatory mechanisms to facilitate an adequate supply of amino acids to the human fetus.

Changes in fatty-acid composition of body fat before and after birth in Tanzania: an international comparative study.

Changes in the fatty-acid composition of human adipose tissue before birth and during infancy and childhood were studied in Tanzania and compared with data for British and Dutch infants in relation to their diet. From the 32nd to the 37th week of gestation in Tanzania the proportion in the body fat of the unsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid tended to rise, suggesting an adequate supply of this essential fatty acid from the mother to the fetus. At term 2.

Intrauterine growth of live-born Tanzanian infants.

The incidence of low birthweight infants, the effect of intrauterine growth retardation on anthropometric measurements, and local standards of intrauterine growth curves for weight, crown-heel length and head circumference together with curves of body measurement ratios of weight/length, weight/head circumference and weight/length x head circumference are presented for the population of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Acomparison is made with a standard composed for a Caucasian community with completely different socio-economic and nutritional status. From 28 to 34 weeks of gestation weight gain in Dar es Salaam foetuses was reduced, while length and head circumference were relatively less affected.

Factors associated with low birth weight in the population of Dar es Slaaam, Tanzania.

Factors associated with low birthweight in Dar es Salaam have been evaluated. The incidence of low birthweight is higher among female infants and infants belonging to parents of a low socioeconomic status. Primiparity, short stature of the mother, a multiple pregnancy, "toxaemia" of pregnancy are some of the factors influencing the growth velocity of the foetus leading to an increased indidence of small-for-dates infants.