Lee Swanson Research Update

Vitamin C Protects Against Premature Births

August 2005

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, expectant women supplementing with a small amount of vitamin C during the second half of their pregnancy may help reduce their risk of premature deliveries.

Premature rupture of the membranes (PROM), where the membranes of the sac holding the growing fetus and amniotic fluid break before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is the most common cause of premature births. Vitamin C is believed to be an important nutrient in the health of the fetal sac that can help prevent PROM.

In the study, 120 healthy women less than 20 weeks pregnant were randomly assigned to receive either 100 mg of vitamin C per day or placebo. Researchers found that PROM incidence was nearly 74% lower in women taking vitamin C than in women taking placebo. Incidence of premature births was also lower in the group taking vitamin C than in the group taking placebo.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81(4):859-863, 2005

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