Investigating the Association between Maternal Iron Supplementation and Neonatal Jaundice: Maternal Iron and Neonatal Jaundice

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is the most frequent cause of neonatal hospital admission worldwide and poses a significant burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Identifying modifiable maternal risk factors is therefore essential for improving neonatal outcomes. This prospective cohort study evaluated the association between maternal iron supplementation during pregnancy and the risk of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Pregnant women presenting in the first trimester were enrolled through convenience sampling and categorized based on their serum ferritin levels. Participants received either prophylactic or therapeutic oral iron supplementation, while injectable iron was administered to those who did not respond adequately to oral therapy. The primary outcome measured was the occurrence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia during the first week of life. Data analysis using SPSS (version 23) included normality testing with the Shapiro-Wilk test, Chi-square comparisons, and regression analysis. Among 176 mothers, 50.6% of neonates developed hyperbilirubinemia. Notably, injectable iron supplementation was associated with a significantly increased risk, with neonates having 5.5 times higher odds of developing jaundice (aOR 5.5; 95% CI: 1.36–22.33).This study highlights a possible association between maternal iron therapy and neonatal jaundice, emphasizing careful monitoring of high-risk pregnancies and guiding safer anemia management strategies to improve neonatal outcomes.