Iron Supplements in Pregnancy Lower Risks of Maternal Anemia, Help Improve Baby's Birth Weight

Maintaining adequate levels of iron during pregnancy can lower the risk of having underweight babies, a new research says.

The study published in the online edition of BMJ, analyzed the data on two million pregnant women who were a part of 90 studies. The report found that taking iron supplements would not only help improve the baby's birth weight, but also protect women against anemia.

A team of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found every 10 mg increase of iron dosage to 66 mg per day brings down the risks of maternal anemia by 12 percent and also reduces the risk of having an underweight baby by 3 percent. The daily iron intake also helped increase birth weight by 15 g.

"Our findings suggest that use of iron in women during pregnancy may be used as a preventive strategy to improve maternal haematological status and birth weight," the authors, said in a news release, adding the need for a "rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of existing antenatal care programmes in high burden countries to identify gaps in policy and programme implementation."

The findings come at a time when about one in every 12 babies is born with low birth weight and is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality or death before 28 days of age in the country. Any weight less than five pounds and eight ounces is considered to be a low birth weight.

Iron helps carry oxygen to our cells. Iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 play a major role in producing hemoglobin. Low levels of hemoglobin during pregnancy could affect both the baby and the mother. Iron deficiency during pregnancy can also increase complications, affecting the baby's development and delaying its growth

According to a WHO estimate, nearly 42 percent of women across the globe struggle with anemia after conceiving. It is difficult to maintain the required levels of iron during pregnancy only through diets. Experts recommend pregnant women to take 60 mg iron supplement containing 400 mg of folic acid, daily.