Low Body Weight Gain, Low White Blood Cell Count and High Serum Ferritin as Markers of Poor Nutrition and Increased Risk for Preterm Delivery

This study determined factors of preterm delivery in Taiwan. Healthy women (n=520, age 29.1+/-4.2 y) at 8-12 weeks of pregnancy were recruited from prenatal clinics. Background information, anthropometrics, biochemical parameters, and dietary intake, collected by 24 h-recall were obtained from the first, second, and third trimesters to delivery. Clinical outcomes of neonates were also collected. The results show that 53.7% of women were primiparous and that the incidence of preterm delivery was 6.2%. Body weight gains in the first trimester and throughout pregnancy were significantly lower in mothers with preterm delivery (preterm group) than in mothers with term delivery (term group, p