Impact of Maternal Iron Status on Neonatal Iron Status and Auditory Brainstem Response in the Newborn

Inclusion Criteria:

- Adolescents (ages 11-18 y) and their newborns will be eligible to participate if the
adolescent is carrying a singleton pregnancy, does not have any preexisting medical
complications (such as HIV-infection, eating disorders, hemoglobinopathies,
malabsorption diseases, steroid use, substance abuse history, or taking medications
known to influence iron homeostasis).

Exclusion Criteria:

- Individuals with pregnancy induced hypertension or elevated diastolic blood pressure
(>110) will not be eligible to participate in the study. In addition, adolescents who
have been previously treated for lead exposure, or those that have been identified as
having elevated blood lead concentrations during childhood, will be excluded from the
study.

- Data from infants that experience perinatal asphyxia, pathologic neonatal
hyperbilirubinemia, respiratory disease, antibiotic therapy (aminoglycosides), CNS
infection, sepsis, congenital or middle or external ear lesions, craniofacial
anomalies, chromosomal disorders, TORCH (toxoplasmosis, other infections, rubella,
cytomegalovirus infection and herpes simplex infection) or those that were clinically
unstable with the first 48 h post-delivery will be excluded from ABR studies. Infants
born to mothers with positive drug abuse screens at delivery will also be excluded
from further study (these screens are automatically run among this age group).
Infants that are identified with hearing deficits at birth using the OAE screening
will be excluded from the ABR measures.