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Journal of Nutrition Vol. 111 No. 10 October 1981, pp. 1823-1832
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Effects of Fasting During Pregnancy on Maternal and Fetal Weight and Body Composition in Well-Nourished and Undernourished Rats1,2,

Sally Ann Lederman and Pedro Rosso

Institute of Human Nutrition and Department of Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032

The effect of a 2-day fast on fetal and maternal weight and composition was determined in ad libitum-fed and food-restricted pregnant and nonpregnant rats. Fasting between days 17 and 19 of gestation resulted in a greater loss of net maternal body weight in ad libitum-fed pregnant than in nonpregnant rats and also a greater loss of body fat. In contrast, food-restricted pregnant rats, also fasted from day 17 to day 19 of gestation, maintained their net body weight and body fat during the fast as did nonpregnant rats fasted for the same length of time. Fetal weight was not significantly reduced by fasting in the ad libitum-fed rats but was reduced by 25% in the previously food-restricted rats. The results demonstrate that prior maternal nutritional status strongly influences the effects of fasting on the fetus and that maternal nutrient stores are not mobilized for fetal utilization even when fetal growth is markedly impaired.

KEY WORDS: • fasting • body composition • fetal weight

1 Supported in part by NIH grant KO 4 HD 00116 (Research Career Development Award).

2 The work reported in this paper was a portion of a Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Columbia University by S. A. Lederman in 1980. An abstract of part of this work has appeared in Fed. Proc. 38(3):871, 1979.

Manuscript received 20 February 1981.




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