Abstract

Anemia is a common medical disorder in pregnancy and it is associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcomes. Objective: to evaluate the association of maternal hemoglobin and fetal outcome. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study undertaken in the inpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute. There were a total of 690 study subjects. All pregnant women reporting to the inpatient department fulfilling exclusion and inclusion criteria are subjected to detailed history taking. Then they are subjected to lab investigation, a complete blood count. They are followed up till delivery and the birth weight of the neonate is measured immediately after delivery on a precise scale and the APGAR score is calculated. Results: Among 690 study subjects, 60.87% (420) had normal hemoglobin, 16.09% (111) had mild anemia, 22.03% (152) had moderate anemia, and 1.01% (7) had severe anemia. Low birth weight was observed more in the severe anemia (28.57%) group, followed by the moderate anemia group (11.84%), mild anemia (10.81%) group, and normal hemoglobin group (10.48%). NICU admissions were more in the severe anemia (28.57%) group, followed by the moderate anemia group (11.84%), normal hemoglobin (10.81%) group, and mild anemia group (10.48%). APGAR score showed moderate depression in 2.62% of neonates of the moderate anemia group and 1.43% of the normal hemoglobin group. Anemia in pregnancy is found to be associated with adverse neonatal outcomes like low-birth-weight babies, low APGAR score, and need for NICU admission, but the association of maternal hemoglobin and the poor neonatal outcome is statistically not significant.

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