Low iron levels linked to heart disease in babies

WOMEN who suffer from low iron levels in pregnancy are much more likely to have a baby with heart disease, experts have found in a “game-changer” discovery.

- JANE KIRBY

For the first time, researchers have linked anaemia in early pregnancy and congenital heart disease, which is when heart problems develop in the womb and are present from birth.

As a result of the findings, researchers estimate that anaemia in pregnant women may account for around one in 20 congenital heart disease cases in the UK. The condition is the most common kind of birth defect, diagnosed in an average of 13 babies every day in the UK, and is a major cause of death.

Nearly a quarter of pregnant women in the UK - and more than a third of pregnant women globally - are thought to have anaemia.

As part of the new work, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, experts will now investigate whether taking iron supplements before and during pregnancy could help prevent heart defects.