Yassera M Sayyed, Riaz J A, Sheikh A S, Alvi F M, Khurram Ahmad, Bukhari M H, Salma Sarfraz, Mateena Zia, Naveed I A.
Evaluation of the relationship of maternal nutritional status with that of the newborn.
Biomedica Jan ;18:44-8.

Objective: To evaluate and see the relationship of maternal nutritional status with that of the newborns. Design: This was a prospective observational study. Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out on mothers between the age of 20 to 40 years in the Lady Willingdon and Ittefaq Hospital. Patients and Methods: The study was carried out on 30 mothers, divided in two groups, comprising 15 in each. 15 mothers belonging to the low socio-economic class whose income was < Rs 6000/month, and 15 to those belonging high socio-economic class with an average monthly income Rs > 20000 / month. Results: Anthropometrics indexes of the infants from Lady Willingdon Hospital indicated that all the infants were of low birth weight (<2500gm). Low hemoglobin (<10gm/dl) were found in many women though the ferritin stores were satisfactory. Similarly half of the infants had low hemoglobin levels (11-13 gm/dl) with an adequate ferritin stores. It was also found that high maternal hemoglobin levels (>11 gm/dl) were positively correlated with higher infant hemoglobin, serum ferritin, weight, height and head circumference measures. Conclusion: It was thus concluded that maternal nutritional status is directly related with that of newborn.

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