Haematological data of African newborns and their mothers in Abidjan.

The analysis of cord blood samples of 198 African newborns and their mothers confirmed the high prevalence of iron deficiency. A hypochromia and microcytosis of red cells was found in 40% of the pregnant women at term. In the majority of newborns the haemoglobin concentration was below 16 g/100 ml. Hb S was found in 11%, Hb C in 9% and alpha-thalassaemia in 2% of the population examined. Haemoglobin, packed cell volume and mean cell volume of erythrocytes were lower than results of newborns from developed countries. Foetal sex had no influence on haematological variables.