Nutritional status of anemic and non-anemic mothers, and outcomes of neonates born at Zawia Medical Center – Libya.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54361/LJMR.19.1.09Keywords:
pregnancy, hemoglobin, anemia, maternal, newbornsAbstract
Background: Anemia is a common medical disorder during pregnancy, especially in third world countries like Libya. Iron deficiency during pregnancy may be attributed to health problems and malnutrition during pregnancy.
Objectives: To determine hemoglobin levels in umbilical cord blood and to evaluate the relationship between maternal hemoglobin concentration and perinatal outcomes in Zawia Medical Center.
Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 81 pregnant women who were admitted to the maternity ward of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Zawia Medical Center from 2 July 2023 to 20 September 2023. Blood samples were collected from women in labor in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes. Immediately, after blood samples were collected, a complete blood count (CBC) test was performed, and in the same context, cord blood samples were examined.
Results: The hemoglobin values of anemic and non-anemic mothers and their neonates were 9.33 ± 1.01 g/dL and 14.44 ± 1.26 g/dL, and 12.12 ± 1.51 g/dL and 14.37 ± 2.10 g/dL, respectively. Moderate anemia was the most commonly observed in the population of this study (24.69%), followed by mild anemia (27.16%) and severe anemia (1.24%). There was a significant correlation between maternal hemoglobin concentration and cord blood hemoglobin concentration (p-value ≤ 0.05). In addition, the study showed that Libyan pregnant mothers concentrate more on consuming traditional local food, some of which is poor in micronutrients.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the average hemoglobin in newborns was lower than the values reported by many other studies. It also showed that there is a linear relationship between maternal and umbilical cord hemoglobin.
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