Comparison of Maternal Blood Lead Level in Term and Preterm Births in Pregnant Women in Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, in Year 2018

Attentions have recently been paid to the effects of contact with lead (Pb) and blood lead levels (BLL) on prenatal complications. Given the high prevalence of preterm labor and its following neonatal complications, this study aimed to evaluate the BLL in pregnant mothers and its relation with preterm labor. Throughout a cross-sectional analytical descriptive study, 63 women with preterm labor and 63 cases with term labor participated. A blood sample was obtained from each mother by the same nurse and BLLs were compared between the two groups. Other collected data included mother’s age and sex, and neonates’ head circumference, height, and weight. Newborns in term and preterm groups weighed 2009.80 ± 70.1 and 3239.44 ± 35.80 grams respectively; their mean height was 50.46 ± 0.10 and 44.00 ± 0.40 cm, and their mean head circumference was 34.47 ± 0.1 and 31.49 ± 0.30 cm, respectively. The mean BLL of mothers in term and preterm newborns was 2.05 ± 0.10 and 3.01 ± 0.1 μg/dl, respectively (P = 0.04). BLL in mothers with preterm labor was significantly higher than in mothers with preterm labor.