Publication:

Incidence and outcome of anemia in pregnant women: a study in a tertiary care centre

Background Anemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency diseases observed globally affecting both developed and developing countries with major consequences for human health as well as social and economic development. Prevention and management of maternal anemia is crucial to prevent morbidity and mortality of the fetus.

Methods The patient history was taken in detail, including age weight and height. BMI was calculated for all the 296 patients who were booked for delivery in our hospital. On enrolment, blood was drawn from the patient for regular check including blood grouping, biochemical parameters including iron estimation, total iron binding capacity, complete blood picture including hemoglobin. Any cause for bleeding was evaluated.

Results 143 patients (48.3%) had a haemoglobin count of less than 10gm%. Most of the anemic patients had moderate anemia followed by women with mild anemia. The most common age group affected was 20-30 years, which was the predominant age group of pregnant patients who had come to our hospital. Most of the women had multi gravida, with 3 being the most common followed by 1 earlier pregnancy. In most of the cases, the interval between 2 consecutive pregnancies was 1 year or less.

Conclusions Anemia is directly proportional to parity, less spacing between pregnancies and related to lower educational status.