Maternal Perceived Stress during Pregnancy Increases Risk for Low Neonatal Iron at Delivery and Depletion of Storage Iron at One Year

Maternal recall of stress during pregnancy was associated with lower iron stores at birth. High cord blood ZnPP/H, reflecting low erythrocyte iron, was correlated with the likelihood of stage 1 iron deficiency at 1 year, when rapid growth can deplete storage iron in breastfed infants.