This study is a retrospective study examining the association between maternal and neonatal outcomes and iron deficiency. While the authors note that the link between iron deficiency and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes has been established, their study was in a low-income country where the association between anaemia and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes is potentially different and less well studied.
Over the course of 6 months, the study enrolled in 622 female patients at a single tertiary medical center in Pakistan. The sample was divided into an anaemic or non-anaemic group based on the mothers’ Hb level in the third trimestre of their pregnancy. Based on this categorisation, the authors noted worse outcomes in every category for the anaemic group compared to non-anaemic mothers and neonates.
These results are similar to the findings from other studies in both developed and underdeveloped countries. While there are limitations to this study due to its retrospective design, the findings add more observational support to the notion that anaemia of pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes and should monitored throughout pregnancy.
– Micah T. Prochaska (SABM reviewer)