Haematological indices are used as a screening tool for sick babies and the need for the establishment of reference values for each population group has also been documented. Furthermore, only a few studies from Nigeria have documented the influence of some of the maternal and neonatal characteristics on haematological profile of newborns. The Nigerian studies did not focus on a major ethnic group and the derived normograms did not follow the stipulated guideline by the International Council for Standardisation in Haematology. The objectives of this study were to determine the haematological parameters of apparently healthy babies (day 0 and 14), examine the impact of the maternal and neonatal characteristic on the haemograms, and generate the normative data for newborns of Nupe origin. This was a descriptive longitudinal study of the haematologic profile of consecutively recruited babies. Socio-demographic and relevant clinical information was obtained. The analysis of blood samples drawn from the cord at delivery (309) and on day 14 day of life (242) was done using Sysmex KX-21NTM haematology analyser. Of the 309 babies, 160 (51.8%) were males and 149 (48.2%) females. Two hundred and seventynine (90.3%) had spontaneous vertex delivery, while 20 (6.5%) were delivered through elective caesarian section and 10 (3.2%) had assisted vaginal delivery. Most (75%) of the neonates were of Nupe origin. The mean Hct, Hb, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RBC and reticulocytes count on day 0 were 48.8 ± 8.0%, 15.0 ± 2.6g/dl, 104.1 ± 8.8fl, 31.9 ± 3.3pg, 30.7 ± 1.7g/dl, 4.7 ± 0.9 (×109/L) and 2.0 ± 1.4%, respectively. The corresponding values on the 14th day were 41.2 ± 5.2%, 12.8 ± 1.9g/dl, 97.2 ± 9.8fl, 30.3 ± 3.8pg, 31.1 ± 1.7g/dl, 4.5 ± 0.6 (×109 /L) and 1.0 ± 0.7%, respectively. The mean WBC and platelets counts were 13.3 ± 4.8 (×109/L) and 228.3 ± 81.2 (×109/L) respectively, on the day 0 and 10.1 ± 2.4 (×109/L) and 370.1 ± 120.7 (×109/L), respectively, on the 14th day. The mean differential WBC counts were 49.4 ± 12.0% for neutrophils and 37.4 ± 11.3% for lymphocytes on day 0, 32.4 ± 10.0% and 52.8 ± 9.3%, respectively on the 14th day. All the mean values for day 0 were significantly (p <0.05) higher than the day 14. The Hb, total WBC and lymphocytes count had a significant correlation with gender on day 0 while significant correlations of the mode of delivery were found with Hb, Hct and RBC count on day 0, and day 14 (Hb and Hct). The socio-economic class had a significant correlation with Hb on the day 0 and total WBC on 14th day. Total WBC on day 0 and platelets count on both days 0 and 14 had a significant correlation with birth weight.