Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 26, 2026
Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes
Published on: May 10, 2022
[Hemoglobin curves during pregnancy before and after fortification of flours with iron]
Ana Paula Sayuri Sato1, Elizabeth Fujimori2, Sophia Cornbluth Szarfarc3
1Epidemiology Department, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, sah@usp.br.
Objective:
To assess the level of hemoglobin-Hb during pregnancy before and after fortification of flours with iron.
Method:
A cross-sectional study with data from 12,119 pregnant women attended at a public prenatal from five macro regions of Brazil. The sample was divided into two groups: Before-fortification (birth before June/2004) and After-fortification (last menstruation after June/2005). Hb curves were compared with national and international references. Polynomial regression models were built, with a significance level of 5%.
Results:
Although the higher levels of Hb in all gestational months after-fortification, the polynomial regression did not show the fortification effect (p=0.3). Curves in the two groups were above the references in the first trimester, with following decrease and stabilization at the end of pregnancy.
Conclusion:
Although the fortification effect was not confirmed, the study presents variation of Hb levels during pregnancy, which is important for assistencial practice and evaluation of public policies.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Hemoglobin
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...
01:19Rh Blood Group
01:24Factors Affecting Erythropoiesis
Several factors influence the erythrocyte production rate, with tissue oxygen level being among the most critical. Intense exercise or high altitudes can cause tissue hypoxia, which triggers the kidneys to release more erythropoietin (EPO) into the bloodstream.
EPO then...
01:27Disorders of Erythrocytes
Erythrocyte disorders can be broadly categorized into two main types: anemic and polycythemic conditions.
A low oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood due to the loss, lower production, or destruction of erythrocytes is termed anemia. Hemorrhagic anemia, for example, occurs when bleeding from an external wound or internal ulcer reduces erythrocyte counts.
On the other...
01:27Oxygen Transport in the Blood
01:14Erythropoiesis