Homocysteine and folate plasma concentrations in mother and baby at delivery after pre-eclamptic or normotensive pregnancy: Influence of parity.

Unlabelled: Pre-eclampsia affects between 2% and 7% of all pregnant women, contributing to perinatal and maternal morbidity. There are conflicting data on plasma homocysteine and folate in pre-eclampsia, and little about fetal concentrations.

Objectives: Firstly, to compare the concentrations of homocysteine and folate in maternal and paired fetal (umbilical venous) plasma samples from normotensive or pre-eclamptic pregnancies at delivery; secondly, to identify any effect of parity on these concentrations.