Background and Aims There are some reports regarding to the association between maternal and fetal hemoglobin level. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of maternal anemia and its association with hemoglobin levels in their newborn babies.

Methods It was a descriptive analytical study in which mothers who referred for delivery to the Besat Hospital in Sanandaj city, Kurdistan province, western Iran were investigated. Overall, 604 mothers was recruited using easy sampling method. Blood assessment was conducted using the cell counter machine. The statistical tests of Chi square and t were used. Meanwhile, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to test all correlations. The multiple regression analysis was also undertaken to assess the relationship between maternal and fetal hemoglobin versus confounding factors.

Results The prevalence of maternal anemia (Hb<11 g/dLit) before delivery was 24.8% (n=150) and Hb levels less than 10 g/dLit was 6.6%. Overall, 5.8% (n= 34) newborns had a mean Hb levels of less than 13.7 g/dLit. A small number of mothers (3.3%, n=20) had preterm delivery and 31 newborn babies (5.3%) were low birth weight. There was no significant relationship between fetal Hb and gender, twins, and preterm babies. There was also a positive and significant correlation between maternal and fetal Hb levels (r=0.143, p<0.001).

Conclusion A significant association was observed between fetal as well maternal anemia with mothers’ age, preterm birth, duration of iron therapy and occupation.