Cord blood haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations in newborns of anaemic and non‑anaemic mothers in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Pre‑delivery haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations of anaemic and non‑anaemic mothers were determined, and cord blood haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations of their newborns were compared. This is to establish the mean values for pre‑delivery haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations of anaemic and non‑anaemic mothers and the cord blood haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations of their newborns at term. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was done involving 142 pregnant women and their newborns. They were divided into two groups – the anaemic group (n = 65) and the non‑anaemic (n = 77) group. Five millilitres of blood was collected from each woman and 2 ml was collected from the cord of their newborns into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) bottle and plain bottle for full blood count analysis and ferritin assay, respectively. Results: The mean pre‑delivery haemoglobin concentrations of the women in anaemic group and non‑anaemic group were 9.5 ± 1.01 g/dl and 12.15 ± 1.07 g/dl, respectively, and their mean serum ferritin concentrations were 64.45 ± 138.76 μg/l and 32.83 ± 35.36 μg/l, respectively. The mean cord blood haemoglobin concentrations for anaemic and for non‑anaemic groups were 12.54 ± 2.54 g/dl and 13.44 ± 2.23 g/dl (P = 0.02), respectively, and the mean cord blood serum ferritin concentrations (non‑anaemic, 69.38 ± 78.88 μg/l; anaemic, 7.26 ± 115.60 μg/l) (P = 0.00) were higher in the newborns of non‑anaemic than of anaemic mothers. Significant association was found between maternal anaemia and cord blood ferritin concentrations (P = 0.025). Conclusion: Maternal anaemia has significant effects on cord blood haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations.

Keywords: Anaemia, haemoglobin, newborn babies, pregnant women, serum ferritin

Nigerian Medical Journal | Vol. 54 | Issue 1 | January-February | 2013