Introduction: During pregnancy, several maternal metabolic adaptations occur. One of these adaptations is the significant changes in lipid metabolism which contribute to the nutrient balance of the fetal-placental unit, essential for fetal development and lactation.Methods: In this study, serum concentration of different fatty acids in healthy pregnant women and three months postpartum were determined by capillary gas chromatography and compared to healthy non-pregnant women and men. Differences between groups were assessed with one-way analyses of variance and the post hoc Tukey-HSD test for multiple comparisons. The Mann-Whitney U test was used when a variable was not normally distributed. All statistical analyses were conducted using R statistical Software (version 3.3.1).Results: The results showed that serum levels of these maternal fatty acids increased significantly from the middle until the end of pregnancy compared to non-pregnant women and decreased at postpartum. Saturated fatty acids were observed to contribute to the highest percentage of total serum fatty acids during gestation, followed by polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, serum levels of total, saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and TRAN’s fatty acids were significantly elevated in healthy non-pregnant women when compared with men.Conclusion: There are significant differences in the lipid profiles among pregnant and non-pregnant women and men, with a decrease in the serum profile of all fatty acids in the postpartum period.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.