ABSTRACT
Nucleated red blood cells [NRBC] are occasionally observed in blood of newborns and some recent studies have reported of a relationship between NRBC count and fetal distress and hypoxia. To investigate the correlation between NRBC count and fetal distress. This was a case-control study conducted at Kosar medical centre in Qazvin, Iran. During a 6-month period in 2005, fifty women of unifetal pregnancy at third trimester of their gestation were chosen and the NRBC counts of their newborns who suffered fetal distress [case group] were evaluated. The control group composed of 100 women at their third trimester of pregnancy whose fetuses showed no sign of any distress. Data were analyzed using X2 and t test. The mean NRBC count in fetal distress group was 2406.6 +/- 2470.7 and in control group 673.43 +/- 709.9. Statistically, increased NRBC count in fetal distress group was found to be significant [p=0.000]. NRBC count in fetal distress group was significantly increased hence it could be used as a marker to evaluate the fetal distress and hypoxia in infants