Maternal iron status and neonatal outcomes in women with pica during pregnancy

Abstract

After calculating sample size needed to estimate pica prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI), 324 women were randomly selected postpartum. The 71 women diagnosed as having pica were then compared with a control group of 71 women without the disorder. Both groups were similar in prepregnancy body mass index, height, parity, educational level, marital status, and employment status. Women with pica revealed ingesting ice (70%); dirt (18%); soap, (4%); chalk (3%); or thread, nail polish, or salt (4%), and most consumed the substance on a daily basis. Table 1 shows data regarding pregnancy outcomes and biochemical indicators of pica as well as neonates' anthropometric characteristics. The prevalence of prematurity was the same in both groups, 1.5% (95% CI, 0.0%–4.2%) in the pica group and 1.4% (95% CI, 0.0%–4.3%) in the control group. The prevalence of neonates with a birth weight less than 2500 g was 7.6% (95% CI, 1.2%–14.0%) in the pica group and 8.6% (95% CI, 2.0%–15.2%) in the control group. Differences in mean corpuscular volume, erythrocyte proto