Title: Role of amino acid in amniotic fluid index during 3rd trimester of pregnancy

Authors: Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Md Fakhrul Alam, Dr. Israt Jahan, Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Shamima Yasmin, Dr. Musammat Shamima Akter

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v8i6.94

Abstract

Background: Amniotic fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a growing fetus. Amniotic fluid index (AFI) is a quantitative estimation of amniotic fluid volume in centimeter. The amount of amniotic fluid volume varies according to age of gestation. In the third trimester the decrease amount of amniotic fluid may cause IUGR, IUD, pre-term birth, foetal distress, cord compression, increase incidence of caesarean delivery etc which leads to increase operative interference and increase neonatal complications.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of different amino acid supplement during third trimester in two different routes and also to compare the efficacy of both route in improvement of AFI in third trimester.

Method: This study was conducted on 132 pregnant women’s with gestational age >32 weeks. Patients were divided in two groups of 66 patients each group. One group was prescribed with intravenous amino acid infusion, and the other group was prescribed with oral amino acid supplementation for two consecutive weeks. Data collected on day one was compared with the data on 21st day of the treatment.

Result: The maternal hemodynamic status were unchanged for both groups. There were statistically significant difference in increase in maternal weight, AG, SFH, AFI, EFW in two groups.

Conclusion: In this study Intravenous amino acid infusion cause a notable increase in SFH, AG, AFI, EFW than oral amino acid supplementation.

Keywords: amniotic fluid, amino acid, abdominal girth, Estimated fetal weight.

References

  1. Mandelbaum, & Evans, T. N. (1969) Life in the amniotic fluid. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol.104:365–377.
  2. Liston, D. Sawchuck, and D. Young, “Fetal health surveillance: antepartum and intrapartum consensus guideline,” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, vol. 29, supplement 4, no. 9, pp. S3–S56, 2007.
  3. Baschat, R. M. Viscardi, B. Hussey-Gardner, N. Hashmi, and C. Harman, “Infant neurodevelopment following fetal growth restriction: Relationship with antepartum surveillance parameters,” Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 44–50, 2009.
  4. P. Phelan, C. V. Smith, P. Broussard, and M. Small, “Amniotic fluid volume assessment with the four-quadrant technique at 36–42 weeks' gestation,” Journal of Reproductive Medicine, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 540–542, 1987.
  5. Villar J, Merialdi M, Gülmezoglu AM, et al. Nutritional interventions during pregnancy for the prevention or treatment of maternal morbidity and preterm delivery: an overview of randomized controlled trials. J Nutr. 2003;133(5 Suppl 2):1606S–1625S.
  6. Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization/United Nations University. Energy and protein requirements. Report of a Joint FAO/ WHO/ UNU Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series no. 724. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1985.
  7. Shah PS, Ohlsson A, Knowledge Synthesis Group on Determinants of Low Birth Weight and Preterm Births. Effects of prenatal multimicronutrient supplementation on pregnancy outcomes: a meta-analysis. CMAJ. 2009;180(12):99–E108.
  8. Brace R. A., Wolf E. J. Normal amniotic fluid volume changes throughout pregnancy. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1989;161(2):382– 388.
  9. Jiang T, Christian P, Khatry SK, Wu L, West KP Jr. Micronutrient deficiencies in early pregnancy are common, concurrent, and vary by season among rural Nepali pregnant women. J Nutr. 2005;135:1106–12.
  10. Bhutta ZA, Ahmed T, Black RE, Cousens S, Dewey K, Giugliani E, Haider BA, Kirkwood B, Morris SS, et al. What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival. 2008;371:417–40.
  11. Kramer M.S., Kakuma R. Energy and protein intake in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2003 doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000032.
  12. Schaafsma G. The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score. J. Nutr. 2000;130:1865S–1867S.
  13. Koch KL. Gastrointestinal factors in nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;186(5 Suppl Understanding): S198–203.

Corresponding Author

Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Md Fakhrul Alam

BSP, MPH, Commanding Officer, 11 Field Ambulance, Savar Cantonment, Bangladesh