Magnesium fasting plasma levels (total, PMg, and ultrafiltrable, PMgUF), daily urinary excretion and tubular reabsorption in the fasting state were measured in 14 healthy women along an uncomplicated gestation and compared with the values observed 3-6 months after delivery (C). PMg and PMgUF progressively fell during gestation (from 1.96 +/- 0.14 and 1.38 +/- 0.09 mg/dl in C, respectively, to 1.67 +/- 0.13 (P less than 0.0005) and 1.2 +/- 0.09 (P less than 0.0005) after 17-26 weeks of gestation and to 1.66 +/- 0.10 (P less than 0.0005) and 1.17 +/- 0.08 (P less than 0.0005) after 27 weeks to term). The decrease in PMg and PMgUF was further apparent in an additional group of 46 pregnant women in comparison with 20 sex-matched non-pregnant controls. Urinary Mg excretion remained unchanged throughout gestation, as did glomerular filtered load of PMgUF and tubular Mg reabsorption in the fasting state, due to the increase in GFR. Moreover, urinary Mg excretion per unit GFR (MgE, mg/dlGFR) and fractional excretion of MgUF filtered load (FEMgUF, %) fell (from 41 +/- 25 and 3.0 +/- 0.9 in C, respectively, to 26 +/- 12 (P less than 0.01) and 2.2 +/- 1.0 (P less than 0.05] in the last period, indicating that a greater fraction of filtered Mg was being reabsorbed by renal tubules. There was a significant inverse correlation between PMgUF and GFR in all the periods studied (r = 0.39, P less than 0.025).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)