Effect of Zinc Supplementation in a Turkish Woman with Two Previous Anencephalic Infants

Abstract

The authors report a case of nutritional zinc deficiency in a young (18-year-old) Turkish woman, who previously delivered 2 anencephalic stillborn infants. The patient was supplemented with 22.5 mg oral zinc sulfate (100 mg ZnSO₄ 7H₂O) for 5 months after her second delivery prior to her third pregnancy. Her blood (plasma and red blood cell) and hair zinc levels returned to normal following zinc supplementation. Good response to Zn supplementation was another criterion of Zn deficiency in this particular case. After an uneventful gestational period, she delivered an apparently normal full-term male child who has grown normally during the first 12 months.