Effectiveness of iron supplementation compared to iron treatment during pregnancy

This study presents the evaluation of an iron supplementation program in a community by comparing 478 pregnant women who received iron supplementation from the 4th month of pregnancy, with 392 pregnant women who received iron treatment only if their Hb level was less than 12 gm/dl, and had no supplementation. In the supplementation group, no statistically significant associations were found between compliance with age, education, social class or parity. Pregnant women of European-American origin showed higher rates of good compliance than those of Asian-African origin. The mean decrease of haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct) between the second and third trimester of pregnancy was smaller in the supplementation group (-0.9 gm/dl Hb, -2.1% Hct) than in the treatment group (-1.1 gm/dl Hb; -3.3% Hct). The differences between the two groups were significant only for the Hct levels (P=0.022). The mean Hb and Hct levels during the third trimester of pregnancy were higher for good compliers (11.7 gm/dl Hb; 33.6% Hct) than for poor compliers (11.4 gm/dl Hb, 32.6% Hct).