الفهرس 
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Abstract
Iron is an essential micronutrient in pregnancy for maternal health as well as fetal growth and development.
During pregnancy, iron homeostasis must be strictly maintained since both iron deficiency and iron overload may raise the risk of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Unbalanced iron status, caused mostly by unmet iron demand for prenatal growth, results in iron deficiency, with anemia as the final stage.
Using serum ferritin, TIBC, CBC, and Hepcidin as maternal iron biomarkers, our study evaluated the relationship between the iron profile of normal-term pregnancies at the time of delivery and the immediate perinatal complications in a sample of Egyptian pregnant women admitted to Shatby Maternity Hospital for delivery.
This cross-sectional observational study included 100 normal-term pregnancies admitted for delivery. Immediate perinatal outcomes that occurred prior to discharge were documented and correlated to maternal iron status.
Regarding the results of our study, the maternal age ranged from 18 to 44 years, with a median age of 25.0 (22.0–32.0). Multipara and multigravida were found in 72.0 and 79.0, respectively.
Anemia was identified in 42% of term pregnancies admitted for delivery, with moderate anemia (Hb = 7-9.9 g/dl) accounting for 23%. Using a ferritin threshold of less than 15 μg/L to identify iron deficiency, ID and IDA showed a prevalence of 38 and 25%, respectively.
Maternal ferritin levels were shown to have a significant, reasonable positive correlation with neonatal birth weight (r = 0.480), whereas the latter had a significant, low positive correlation with both maternal hepcidin (r = 0.347) and hemoglobin levels (r = 0.311).
Maternal hepcidin levels were significantly lower in iron-deficient mothers (median: 1362.0 pg/mL) compared to mothers with adequate ferritin levels (median: 2200.50 pg/mL).
In our investigation, unfavorable perinatal outcomes, including low birth weight, premature rupture of membranes, admission in NICU, Apgar scores <7, and postpartum hemorrhage, were significantly related to maternal iron deficiency with moderate anemia, as compared to non-anemic pregnant women with appropriate ferritin levels, (p≤0.05).
When compared to non-complicated cases, TIBC levels were slightly higher in cases with unfavorable perinatal outcomes, but the differenc