Hemoglobin Concentration Level during Pregnancy and Its Association with Birth Weight

Introduction: The study aimed to assess the relationship between early pregnancy Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and weight gain status in pregnant women and birth weight.
Material and Methods: This is a retrospective study that was carried out on the 1994 under-five-year children. Among 118 villages in Gorgan and Aq-Qala districts, 20 villages were chosen by random sampling. Birth weights, birth stature, means of Hb in early pregnancy and maternal weight gain during pregnancy have been recorded by health care file available from Primary Health Care System. Hb concentration divided in three classifications: Low (Anemia) =Hb<11 g/dl, Normal= 11-12.4 g/dl and High>=12.5 g/dl (11). SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical data analysis.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of maternal serum Hb, birth weight and weight gain during pregnancy were 12.0±1.1g/dl, 3.3±0.5 kg, and 10.5±4.1kg, respectively. Anemia (Hb<11g/dl) was common in 16.8% (336 cases) of mothers in gestational period. The mean of weight gain in first, second and third trimesters and in eighth and in ninth months in pregnancy have significantly positive association with serum Hb concentration (P=0.001). However birth weight was not statistically significant differences among three Hb groups. Totally, weight gain during pregnancy was 10.50 kg with lower rate in anemic group (11>Hb g/dl).
Conclusion: Low Hb concentration during pregnancy is a main health problem in rural area in the north of Iran. The positive association between serum Hb concentration and weight gain was seen in pregnancy, while it was not significant association with birth weight.