Randomly selected parturients with term singleton pregnancies from two different settings, 83 from Mozambique and 90 from Sweden, entered the study. All of them underwent elective cesarean section, which enabled sterile harvesting of amniotic fluid (AF). AF samples were then tested for antibacterial activity (ABA). Background data and nutritional status were compared. Average age was 32.7 and 30.7 years (n.s.), average parity 6.6 and 1.6 (p