Tsegaye, Aster (BSc, MSc, PhD)Birhanu, Asaye (BSc, MLT, MSc)Terefe, Betelihem2021-09-302023-11-062021-09-302023-11-062012-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/28013Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a severe form of iron deficiency. It most commonly occurs in pregnant women and infants. One of the causes of IDA in early childhood is the acquisition of lower than the normal amount of iron store at birth. The stored iron of the newborn babies, which is the main source of iron during the first six months of their age, is endowed from the maternal circulation. Therefore, knowledge of the effect of maternal IDA on the iron stores of term newborns will be relevant for better management of IDA in infancy. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of maternal iron deficiency anemia on iron store of term newborns. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 13, 2011 to February 20, 2012 in Obstetrics and Gynecology departments of St. Paul’s hospital, Selam and Gulelie health centers. A total of 95 pregnant women and their respective newborns that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Blood samples were collected from the mothers and cord of newborns and analyzed for complete blood count and serum ferritin levels using Cell-dyn 1800 and Cobas e 411 analyzers, respectively. Women were classified into three groups as: iron deficient anemic, iron deficient non anemic and non iron deficient non anemic based on hemoglobin and serum ferritin values. All pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical quality aspects were thoroughly controlled. For statistical analysis MedCalc® software Version 12.1.4 was used. Result: The median hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels for the pregnant women were 12.2g/dl and 42.1ng/ml, respectively. The median hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels for the newborns were 16.1g/dl and 187.6ng/ml, respectively. Newborns of iron-deficient anemic pregnant women (152.6ng/ml) had significantly lower levels ( p = 0.0008) of serum ferritin than non iron deficient non anemic pregnant women (225.9ng/ml). Besides, newborns ferritin and hemoglobin levels have significant correlation with hemoglobin ( r s = 0.256, p = 0.0122; r = 0.226, p = 0.0279), and ferritin (r s = 0.366, p = 0.0003; r s s = 0.268, p = 0.0086) levels of the mothers. Maternal age had an effect on the ferritin status of newborns, where newborns delivered from younger mothers (< 24 years) had higher serum ferritin values than the others (> 24 years). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that maternal iron deficiency anemia has a significant impact on the iron store levels of their newborn.en-USMaternal Iron Deficiency,Anemia,NewbornsThesis