The relationship between maternal and foetal iron nutrition has evoked considerable interest and debate. In pregnancy the demand for iron is increased by the mother’s need to expand her red cell mass to fulfill the requirements of the developing foetus. Foetal hon is derived solely from the mother through the active transport function of the placenta, and the quantity transferred might reasonab...

to streptomycin, it is not entirely clear how far this risk extends to the foetus. Certainly streptomycin does cross the placenta: this was established in 1945 by Woltz and Wiley and independently by Heilman et al. (1945). Subsequent work (Bernhard et al., 1950 ; Riskxer et al., 1952 ; Charles, 1954) confirmed that, although the effectiveness of the placental barrier varies, streptomycin and di...

The influence of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (0.05 microgram/kg bw/day, given I.M. for 10 days) on calcium transfer from dam to foetus and on foetal calcium and phosphate content was observed in 3 groups of 10 guinea pigs, one group on each of days 40, 50 and 66 of gestation. At 40 and 50 days of gestation, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol increased the calcium and phosphate content of the foetu...