American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 8, 265-275, Copyright © 1960 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Vitamin B₁₂ in Pregnancy and the Puerperium

¹ From the Hematology Service, Department of Medicine, Royal Victoria Hospital, and University Clinic, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

The serum vitamin B₁₂ level of normal pregnant women is significantly lower than that of normal women. The serum vitamin B₁₂ concentration progressively decreases during pregnancy and progressively increases during the early weeks of the postpartum period. The decrease does not seem to be primarily due to the hydremia of pregnancy, or to altered capacity of the serum to bind vitamin B₁₂ during pregnancy, as determined by the charcoal adsorption or ultrafiltration methods for assay of vitamin B₁₂ binding capacity.

The serum vitamin B₁₂ level of full-term normal infants at birth is considerably greater than that of their mothers.

From the data presented in this paper and from that found in the literature it is not warranted to conclude that a deficiency of vitamin B₁₂ develops in normal pregnant women. Further information regarding the state of tissue stores of this vitamin during pregnancy must be obtained before this problem can be settled.

Some patients with megaloblastic anemias of pregnancy and the puerperium observed at the Royal Victoria Hospital have shown serum vitamin B₁₂ concentrations comparable to the levels found in patients with addisonian pernicious anemia in relapse and have responded hematologically to administration of the vitamin.

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