Chelsea Rowe | Bio 1615-039-F15 | Nov 2015

Summary of Effect of Maternal Anemia at High Altitude on Infant Hematocrit and

Oxygenation 2004, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

It is accepted medical knowledge that a mothers oxygen levels directly affect the health of her
babies. This suggests that mothers with anemia, a condition in which there are not enough red
blood cells to distribute oxygen properly, will have babies that, too, have low oxygen levels and
thus lower birth weights and a higher risk for hypoxia, a result of anemia in which not enough
oxygen reaches the tissues of the body. Researchers conducted a study to find out if this is true,
and to do so studied maternal women and their babies at high altitudes. The results they found,
however, negate their hypothesis. Babies born at high altitudes to anemic and non-anemic
mothers alike were overall healthy with no signs of reduced blood oxygen supply.

The researchers prepared this study for several reasons. Clinical medicines assertion that a
mother's oxygen level directly affects that of her baby suggests that women with anemia at high
altitudes where the air is less saturated with oxygen (and results of anemia are exaggerated and
easier to monitor) will have babies with problems. However, evidence from other studies
suggests otherwise - maternal animals adapt well to anemia and native Tibetan women (at high
altitudes) have babies of high birth weights. And furthermore, no study prior to this has been
conducted on humans to test the oxygen supply, blood health, and overall health of babies born
to anemic mothers at high altitudes.
Researchers performed this study at a wealthy hospital in Peru at an altitude of 12,300 feet. A
total of thirty-six women, all local to the area, and of ages 16-41 were included in the results. The

control group consisted of non-anemic women with a hematocrit (ratio of the volume of red
blood cells to the total volume of blood) level above 41%; the experimental group was anemic
women with a hematocrit level below 41%. Hematocrit levels were standardized to compensate
for normal changes due to pregnancy. After each woman had a completely normal vaginal
delivery (with subjects excluded if they experienced any abnormalities), researchers recorded
measurements of each babys birth weight, and both blood oxygen saturation and hematocrit
levels at specific intervals from one to four months after birth.

From these measurements researchers compiled the following results. First, babies born at high
altitudes to anemic mothers actually had higher hematocrit levels than both their own mothers
and their non-anemic mother-baby counterparts. Second, all babies born at high altitudes (to both
anemic and non-anemic mothers) had healthy and similar levels of blood oxygen saturation. With
a negative correlation between mother and baby blood oxygen levels, the researchers original
hypothesis was negated. Researchers consider physiological or genetic adaptations as possible
explanations for these results, but further research needs to be conducted to confirm.

In conclusion, medical knowledge suggests that anemic mothers would have babies with low
blood oxygen levels. Researchers conducted a study on maternal women and their babies at high
altitudes, but their results negate their hypothesis and instead found a negative correlation
between women with anemia living at high altitudes and low oxygen levels and birth weights of
their babies. Further studies need to be conducted to find an accurate explanation.