24 Apr 2025 • Maternal anaemia in early pregnancy was linked to a 47% higher risk of congenital heart disease (CHD) in children, according to a large UK case–control study.

Using electronic health records from over 16,000 mother–child pairs (1998–2020), researchers found anaemia (hemoglobin <110 g/L) in 4.4% of mothers of children with CHD versus 2.8% in controls. The association remained significant after adjusting for maternal health factors (aOR 1.47).

These findings point to the potential of periconceptional iron supplementation as a simple, cost-effective measure to lower CHD risk in newborns.

Source: Wiley Online Library | Read Full Story