Maternal anaemia in early pregnancy tied to unfavourable birth outcomes

Women with anaemia during their early pregnancy are at heightened risk of delivering prematurely and giving birth to neonates with low birth weight and small for gestational age (SGA), as shown in a study.

For the study, researchers looked at the clinical data of pregnant women who received their first antenatal care between 8 and 14 weeks of gestation in China. The association between anaemia during early pregnancy and the risk of neonatal outcomes was analysed using multiple logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline regression models. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the strength of the findings.

A total of 34,087 singleton pregnancies were included in the analysis. The rate of anaemia during early pregnancy was 16.3 percent.

The severity of maternal anaemia during early pregnancy showed a positive association with preterm birth, low birth weight, and SGA, such that the greater the severity of anaemia, the higher the risk of such outcomes (p<0.05).

The respective adjusted odds ratios (aOR) associated with mild, moderate, and severe anaemia were as follows: 1.37 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.25–1.52), 1.54 (95 percent CI, 1.35–1.76), and 4.03 (95 percent CI, 2.67–6.08) for preterm birth; 1.61 (95 percent CI, 1.44–1.79), 2.01 (95 percent CI, 1.75–2.30), and 6.11 (95 percent CI, 3.99–9.36) for low birth weight; and 1.37 (95 percent CI, 1.25–1.52), 1.54 (95 percent CI, 1.35–1.76), and 2.61 (95 percent CI, 1.74–4.50) for SGA.

Meanwhile, early pregnancy anaemia or haemoglobin levels showed no association with the risk of congenital malformations. Sensitivity analysis verified the stability of the results.