A case-control study was conducted in Khartoum Hospital Sudan to determine maternal and umbilical cord blood levels of zinc and copper in active labor versus elective cesarean delivery. Cases were women delivered vaginally and controls were women delivered by elective cesarean (before initiation of labor). Paired maternal and cord zinc and copper were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The two groups (52 paired maternal and cord in each arm) were well matched in their basic characteristics. In comparison with cesarean delivery, the median (interquartile range) of both maternal [87.0 (76.1-111.4) vs. 76.1 (65.2-88.3) μg/dL, P = 0.004] and cord zinc [97.8 (87.0-114.1) vs. 81.5(65.2-110.2) μg/dL P = 0.034] levels were significantly higher in the vaginal delivery. While there was no significant difference in the maternal copper [78.8 (48.1-106.1) vs. 92.4 (51.9-114.9) μg/dL, P = 0.759], the cord copper [43.5(29.9-76.1) vs. 32.2(21.7-49.6) μg/dL, P = 0.019] level was significantly higher in vaginal delivery. There was no significant correlation between zinc (both maternal and cord) and copper. While the cord zinc was significantly correlated with maternal zinc, there was no significant correlation between maternal and cord copper. The current study showed significantly higher levels of maternal and cord zinc and cord copper in women who delivered vaginally compared with caesarean delivery.
Keywords: Cesarean delivery; Copper; Pregnancy; Sudan; Zinc.