Heavy metals in maternal and cord blood

Heavy metal concentrations have been determined in maternal and cord blood samples collected from mothers in the age group 20–25 years with full-term neonates (37–40 weeks). The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn were found to be low in cord blood as compared to mother’s blood and the ratio between cord blood and maternal blood for the respective elements was found to be approximately 0.80, 0.86, 0.47 and 0.40. On the other hand, the concentrations of Fe and Mg in the mother’s blood were found to be lower than those in the cord blood. Prenatal exposure to lead in Mumbai, though low (5.1 μg/dl), is approximately 2–3 times higher than that observed in Canada or Italy. A strong correlation ( r=0.79) between the maternal and cord blood lead levels has been observed during the present study.