Maternal Factors Influencing Infant Total Body Iron at Birth and Four Months of Age

Abstract

Iron is necessary in fetal development, however little research has been conducted to assess factors that affect both maternal and fetal total body iron. The objective of this research is to investigate infant iron status at birth and 4 months of age in relation to the factors affecting maternal iron status. Pregnant subjects (n=350) between the ages of 16 and 35.99 and a BMI < 40 were recruited between 8 and 20 weeks gestational age to consume DHA or placebo capsules. This analysis is secondary to the primary research. Post-partum and cord blood samples were collected at birth and an additional sample was collected from the infant at 4 months of age. Transferrin receptor and ferritin were analyzed from all blood samples obtained. Maternal and infant medical records were also followed along with subject report to gather information on factors that may affect iron status. Correlations between maternal body iron and cord blood; and maternal body iron and 4 month infant body iron were obtained through bivariate correlations. Linear regression assessed covariates that affect cord blood and infant iron status. Smoking before pregnancy, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and infant gender were all found to significantly affect the infant total body iron in the cord blood sample (p<0.05). Infant total body iron at birth was also correlated with 4 month infant body iron (p<0.05). This study reaffirms previously published research that infant and maternal iron status are affected by smoking, high blood pressure, and infant being male gender.