Abstract

The Objectives of our study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and the factors affecting hemoglobin status among pregnant women. Anemia majorly affects the developing countries causing maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. According to WHO, prevalence of anemia in pregnant women in developed and developing countries is 14% and 51% respectively. This was a retrospective study conducted for a period of 9 months in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at GMC, Amritsar, Punjab. A total of 1124 patients were enrolled in the study after taking written and informed consent. The hemoglobin was measured by automated cell counter method and those with hemoglobin level <11 g/dl were considered as anemic and included in the study. The data was collected from registers maintained in our department. In our study, overall prevalence of anemia among pregnant women getting admitted to our IPD was 78.2%. Patients mostly belonged to mild category being 67.1%. 23.4% patients were under moderate category whereas 7.2% and 2.3% were in severe and very severe categories respectively. Age, education status, occupation, no. of pregnancies, no. of abortions and family size were the factors associated with anemia in pregnant women. This continuing high burden of anemia is due to various socioeconomic and obstetric factors. Faulty dietary habits and lack of knowledge of iron rich food also contributes to anemia. Another cause is lack of utilization of resources provided under various programmes by Govt. of India. So to deal with this problem, pressing steps should be taken

Description

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