An Australian-led medical trial in Africa hopes to change the current recommended care for expectant mothers.
The study, co-led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), in Victoria, is the first to show iron infusions in late pregnancy can significantly boost iron stores in pregnant women.
Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha said the trial found a single iron infusion in the third trimester could significantly reduce anaemia in pregnant women and outperformed the efficacy of iron tablets, which was the current recommended care.
Professor Pasricha said adequate iron was critical during pregnancy to support the health of the mother and developing baby, with poor iron levels linked to a higher risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight and postpartum depression.
He said iron deficiency was one of the leading causes of anaemia in pregnancy worldwide.
“While anaemia is one of the most avoidable causes of illness and death in resource-poor nations, any woman across the world can become anaemic during pregnancy, highlighting how this remains a global priority.”
Professor Pasricha said globally, around 37 percent of pregnant women were anaemic, almost 32 million women at any given time.
He said in Australia, anaemia reportedly occured in 25 percent of all pregnancies.
“Pregnant women with anaemia are at elevated risk of complications, including chronic fatigue, post-partum haemorrhage and stillbirth deliveries.
“Anaemic pregnancies can also be risky for the baby, with potential impacts to the development of the placenta, the baby’s brain development and red blood cell formation.”
Professor Pasricha said WEHI researchers worked with scientists at the Training Research Unit of Excellence and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, in Malawi, in one of the largest iron trials, involving 590 pregnant women in that country.
She said the team found the women receiving infusions had a lower anaemia prevalence (46.7 percent) compared to those receiving iron tablets (62.7 percent) at the time of delivery.
“A third-trimester infusion was also found to protect a mother’s iron stores, even postpartum.”
He said researchers plan to share the data with the World Health Organisation, which currently recommends oral iron tablets taken twice daily for pregnant women as the primary prevention strategy for maternal anaemia, to help inform future global antenatal care guidelines.
Read the full study: Ferric carboxymaltose for anemia in late pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.
