title: Serum alkaline phosphatase activity during pregnancy and the post-partum period in Ghanaian women.
abstract: Serum alkaline phosphatase activity was determined in 454 Ghanaian women at various stages of pregnancy and the eighteen months following delivery and compared with the levels found in 45 non-pregnant women who were not nursing babies. There was a statistically significant fall in mean enzyme activity in the second trimester, followed by a rise above normal in the third trimester. During the eighteen months following delivery, the mean serum alkaline phosphatase activities were significantly raised. Increase in plasma volume which occurs during pregnancy is suggested as the cause of the fall in serum enzyme activity in the second trimester whereas the rise in enzyme activity in the third trimester is attributed to the well-known increase in serum alkaline phosphatase of placental origin. The prolonged elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase activity in the post-partum months is most likely due to the traditional prolonged breast-feeding that practised in Ghana.
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third
chemical_list: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase