(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Taking large doses of vitamins C and E offers no protection against a potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy or poor outcomes for the infant.

That's the key finding from Australian researchers who compared preeclampsia rates and fetal death and distress among nearly 1,900 healthy women -- some who were and some who weren't given the vitamins during their pregnancies. Women in the vitamin group took 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C and 400 international units of vitamin E daily. Women in the comparison group took a placebo pill.

Results reveal no difference between the two groups in the risk of preeclampsia, a condition marked by high blood pressure and protein in the urine that, left untreated, can lead to eclampsia -- dangerous seizures that put both mother and baby at risk of death. Nor were any differences seen in fetal death or other complications in the newborns, or the risk of having a baby who fell below the 10th percentile for weight.

Women with preeclampsia are known to suffer from oxidative stress, and the authors had speculated the vitamins might protect against the condition due to their antioxidant effects. The study revealed, however, the opposite may be true. Women in the vitamin group were more likely to develop high blood pressure and receive treatment with antihypertensive drugs than those on the sham treatment.

The researchers conclude, "Our results do not support routine supplementation with vitamins C and E during pregnancy to prevent preeclampsia or other adverse perinatal outcomes."

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2006;354:1796-1806