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Published on: January 19, 2024
The association between maternal anemia and neonatal anemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Bokang Zhao1, Mengxing Sun2,3,4, Tianchen Wu2,3,4
1Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
Insights
Maternal anemia during pregnancy is linked to lower neonatal hemoglobin levels in newborns. This finding highlights the importance of addressing anemia in pregnant women for infant health.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Neonatology
- Public Health
Background:
- Neonatal anemia poses long-term risks to child development.
- Pregnancy anemia is a prevalent global nutritional deficiency with significant public health implications.
- Addressing maternal anemia is crucial for preventing adverse neonatal outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal anemia during pregnancy and neonatal hemoglobin levels.
- To quantify the impact of maternal anemia on newborn hemoglobin concentration.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.
- Searched multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase up to August 2022.
- Pooled hemoglobin data from 18 studies involving 1873 participants using a random-effects model.
Main Results:
- Maternal anemia during pregnancy was significantly associated with lower neonatal hemoglobin levels.
- Newborns of anemic mothers had an average hemoglobin level 1.38 g/dL lower than those of non-anemic mothers (95% CI: -1.96 to -0.80).
- The findings indicate a clear correlation between maternal anemia and reduced neonatal hemoglobin.
Conclusions:
- Maternal anemia during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for lower neonatal hemoglobin levels.
- This association underscores the need for improved understanding and management of anemia in pregnant individuals.
- Results provide guidance for future nutritional interventions during pregnancy and postpartum outcome prediction.
Importance:
Neonatal anemia has a long-term effect on children's growth and development. Anemia during pregnancy is also the most widespread nutritional deficiency among pregnant women in the world; If it leads to anemia in newborns, it will affect a wide range of people and be a public health problem worthy of attention.
Objective:
To study the relationship between maternal anemia during pregnancy and neonatal hemoglobin levels.
Data Sources:
PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase, ProQuest, Dissertations & Theses Global, The Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine Database, Chinese CNKI Database, and Chinese Wanfang Database were systematically searched from inception to August 31, 2022.
Study Selection:
The meta-analysis included all original studies which pertain to cohort studies, case-control studies or cross-sectional studies that investigated the relationship between maternal anemia during pregnancy and neonatal hemoglobin levels.
Data Extraction And Synthesis:
Hemoglobin level of both anemic and non-anemic pregnant mothers and their paired newborns were pooled from the selected studies. The random-effects model was used to assess the risk of getting a lower neonatal hemoglobin level between mothers with and without pregnant anemia. Data analyses were performed from September 5, 2022, to March 10, 2023.
Main Outcomes And Measures:
Maternal anemia during pregnancy is a risk factor of lower neonatal hemoglobin levels.
Results:
The initial search yielded 4267 records of which 116 articles underwent full-text evaluation, which identified 18 articles and a total of 1873 patients that were included. The findings of the meta-analysis showed a significant difference between the two groups(MD=-1.38; 95%CI:[-1.96,-0.80]. p<0.01), while the co-effect showed that the neonatal hemoglobin value of anemic mothers was 1.38g/dL lower than that of non-anemic mothers(-1.96,-0.80), suggesting a correlation between maternal anemia lower neonatal hemoglobin levels.
Conclusions And Relevance:
This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that maternal anemia during pregnancy were associated with a lower level of newborn hemoglobin levels. This may enable a better understanding of neonatal anemia and provide guidance towards future development of nutritional supplementation during pregnancy and the prediction of postpartum outcomes.
Trial Registration:
PROSPERO Identifier: CRD42022352759.
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