iron status in newborns born to iron-deficient mothers

background: iron deficiency anemia is one of the important problems during pregnancy.  iron deficiency has several adverse effects on pregnant women and their newborns.   objective: to determine the status of iron store in newborns born to mothers with iron deficiency anemia.   methods: in a cross-sectional study, 90 mothers were categorized into three groups according to their pre-delivery hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations.  those with iron-deficiency anemia (ida) were defined as a hemoglobin concentration (hb) <11 g/dl and serum ferritin concentration (sf) of <10 ng/ml;  those with non-anemic iron deficiency (nida) with an hb of ³ 11 g/dl and sf of <10 ng/ml; and those mothers with normal hb and iron status, defined as an hb ³ 11 g/dl and a sf ³ 10 ng/ml, who were treated as normal control.  then cord bloods of the newborn were compared among the three groups.   results:   significant differences were found in mean hb (p<0.01) and sf (p<0.03) among normal control and ida, with the lowest values found in neonates born to mothers with iron deficiency anemia.   conclusions: contrary to previous beliefs, the iron status of mothers can influence their babies.