Impact of Maternal Iron Deficiency and Anaemia on Pregnancy and its outcomes in a Nigerian Population

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency and anaemia during pregnancy, two nutritional disorders of public health importance, are common in developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the possible contribution and impact of anaemia and iron status on pregnancy and its outcomes in a Nigerian population.METHODS: Three hundred and forty nine (349) pregnant women aged 15-40 years (mean; 27. 04 � 4. 75 years) at gestational age = 25 week (mean 21.77 � 3.14 wks) were analysed for plasma iron and haemoglobin using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer and Cyanmethaemoglobin method, respectively. The women were followed-up weekly till delivery after which neonatal anthropometrics and other birth outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: Anaemia and iron deficiency were recorded in 252 (72.2%) and 222 (63.6%) of the women, respectively, with 0.3% severely anaemic while 38.4% and 33.5% were moderately and mildly anaemic respectively. An inverse relationship was observed between anaemia and iron deficiency with lower prevalence of iron deficiency found among groups with high prevalence of anaemia. Parity and antenatal attendance have significant (p < 0.05) effect on maternal haemoglobin with multiparous women having higher prevalence of anaemia and more than 10 antenatal attendance being associated with lower anaemia prevalence. On the pregnancy outcomes, neither maternal iron status nor anaemia was related to birth weight. However, higher foetal head circumferences (34.09 � 2.61 vs. 33.41� 2. 68cm, p < 0.05) and more preterm deliveries (< 37wk) were found in anaemic than non-anaemic women (19 vs. 3, p = 0.001). Although no significant difference in maternal concomitant illnesses during pregnancy was found either in the iron or the anaemia groups, surgically delivered babies were significantly (p < 0.05) more in iron deficient than in the iron adequate group (16 vs. 1, p = 0.021). CONCLUSSION: Maternal anaemia was associated with premature delivery, delivery through caesarean section, and infants with lower head circumference. Thus, there is indication that apart from iron deficiency, other factors that predispose pregnant women to the development of anaemia may play important role in determining pregnancy outcomes.