Jyothi Punjari Purna, Garg Manasi, Karthik Venkatesh, Senkadhirdasan D, Palanisamy Soundararajan, Rajasulochana A R
Department of Paediatrics, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Puducherry, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Puducherry, India.
Niger Postgrad Med J. 2025 Apr 1;32(2):142-146. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_19_25. Epub 2025 May 14.
Maternal Vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes, including preterm delivery, spontaneous abortion, intrauterine growth restriction and reduced Vitamin B12 levels in neonates.
This study aimed to assess the impact of maternal Vitamin B12 levels on neonatal outcomes, particularly focusing on anthropometric measurements and Vitamin B12 status in newborns.
This prospective study was conducted from February 2023 to January 2024, involving antenatal mothers over 28 weeks of gestation admitted for delivery to a tertiary care hospital. After obtaining ethical clearance and informed consent, blood samples were collected to measure maternal Vitamin B12 levels, which were classified as deficient, insufficient or sufficient. Neonatal outcomes, evaluated immediately after birth, included birth weight, length, head circumference and Vitamin B12 status. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0. The Chi-square test was employed for analysing categorical variables, while one-way ANOVA was utilised for continuous variables.
Among the 100 mothers studied, 72% had low Vitamin B12 levels, with 41% being deficient and 31% insufficient. Neonates born to mothers with low Vitamin B12 levels showed higher incidences of low birth weight (9%), small for gestational age (23%), short length (<10th percentile) (5%) and small head circumference (<10th percentile) (1%). Although 7% of newborns had low Vitamin B12 levels, no statistically significant association was found between maternal Vitamin B12 status and neonatal anthropometric measurements.
Maternal Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, including lower birth weight rates. These findings emphasise the critical need for routine screening and supplementation of Vitamin B12 in pregnant women.
孕期母亲维生素B12缺乏与不良结局相关，包括早产、自然流产、宫内生长受限以及新生儿维生素B12水平降低。
本研究旨在评估母亲维生素B12水平对新生儿结局的影响，尤其关注新生儿的人体测量指标和维生素B12状况。
本前瞻性研究于2023年2月至2024年1月进行，纳入在一家三级护理医院分娩的孕周超过28周的产前母亲。在获得伦理批准和知情同意后，采集血样以测量母亲的维生素B12水平，其被分类为缺乏、不足或充足。出生后立即评估的新生儿结局包括出生体重、身长、头围和维生素B12状况。使用SPSS 20.0版进行统计分析。采用卡方检验分析分类变量，而连续变量则使用单因素方差分析。
在研究的100名母亲中，72%的母亲维生素B12水平较低，其中41%缺乏，31%不足。维生素B12水平低的母亲所生的新生儿出现低出生体重（9%）、小于胎龄（23%）、身长较短（<第10百分位数）（5%）和头围较小（<第10百分位数）（1%）的发生率较高。尽管7%的新生儿维生素B12水平较低，但未发现母亲维生素B12状况与新生儿人体测量指标之间存在统计学上的显著关联。
母亲维生素B12缺乏与不良新生儿结局相关，包括较低的出生体重率。这些发现强调了对孕妇进行维生素B12常规筛查和补充的迫切需求。
