First-trimester maternal folate and vitamin B12 concentrations and their associations with first-trimester placental growth: the Rotterdam Periconception Cohort.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) in this observational study publication.

Linear mixed models were used to assess the associations between maternal folate and vitamin B12 concentrations with first-trimester PVs.

Why It Was Studied

The observational design of this study does not exclude residual confounding, and their hospital-based study population, with mostly adequate RBC folate and serum vitamin B12 concentrations, could limit the generalizability of their results.

This study was funded by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Developmental Biology of the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, women only.

Between January 2010 and December 2020, 480 pregnancies (727 longitudinal ultrasound measurements) with known maternal folate and/or vitamin B12 blood concentrations in the first trimester and 875 pregnancies (1430 longitudinal ultrasound measurements) with known timing of folic acid supplement initiation were included in the Rotterdam Periconception Cohort, a prospective, hospital-based observational cohort.

Red blood cell (RBC) folate and serum vitamin B12 concentrations were determined in first-trimester maternal blood, and the timing of folic acid supplement use was collected using validated questionnaires.

How the Study Was Run

PV was measured from serial 3-dimensional ultrasounds performed at 7, 9, and 11 weeks of gestation.

Analyses were adjusted for gestational age at ultrasound, maternal age, BMI, geographical background, education level, parity, smoking, mode of conception, and the other B vitamins.

For validation, the association between the timing of folic acid supplement initiation (pre- or postconception) and PV was assessed.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Folic Acid, Pregnancy Trimester, First, Vitamin B 12, Dietary Supplements, Placentation, Placenta and Cohort Studies.

Author keywords: folate, one-carbon metabolism and vitamin B12.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12).

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2025 (Human reproduction (Oxford, England)), a journal based in England.

More context: the Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) compound page, all human trials.