ABSTRACT
Background: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) during pregnancy continue to be of worldwide concern.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of maternal iron status on neonatal iron status and anthropometric characteristics.Methodology: A total of 86 pregnant women aged between 19 and 31 years delivering singleton live births at term gestation (37-41weeks) were included in the study. The pregnant women were divided into three groups according to their pre-delivery haemoglobin (<11gm/dl) and serum ferritin concentration (<12ng/dl) levels. Analysis of maternal and cord blood for estimation of haemoglobin level and serum ferritin was performed. Weight, length and head circumference of neonates was also recorded. Results: Amongst the pregnant women, 32.6% were anaemic and 17.4% were iron deficient. Neonatal haemoglobin and neonatal serum ferritin was significantly different (p<0.001) across 3 groups suggesting that maternal anaemia affected the iron status including iron stores of the newborn. Neonatal haemoglobin and neonatal serum ferritin had a significant positive correlation with maternal iron status. However no significant correlation was found between maternal iron status and neonatal anthropometric parameters except in case of neonatal birth weight which had a significant positive correlation with maternal haemoglobin levels. Conclusion: This study showed that maternal iron deficiency anaemia has an adverse effect on iron status of their newborns. Thus effective strategies are urgently needed to control maternal anaemia in the developing world.