European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ANEMIA; ITS PREDICTORS AND FREQUENCY IN PAKISTANI PREGNANT FEMALES

*Adnan Bashir Bhatti, Muhammad Usman, Farhan Ali,Siddique Akbar Satti, Nabiyah Bakhtawar

ABSTRACT

Background: Anemia during pregnancy is a worldwide growing concern and a major obstacle in the Millennium Development Goal no. 4 and 5 directed towards mother and child care. The objectives of this study were focused towards determining the frequency of anemia in pregnant women and to determine if any factor can act as predictor of anemia in pregnant women. Methods: This is a cross sectional study. Simple random sampling technique was employed choosing every second pregnant women coming to Gynae and Obstetrics OPD of Capital Development Authority (CDA) Hospital, Islamabad, a tertiary care hospital. A total of 300 were chosen using this technique. The hemoglobin levels were noted from the hematological reports accompanying the patients. Further, the researchers noted the various predictors using a questionnaire. The data was entered into and analyzed by computer software SPSS version 17. Results: The frequency of anemia in pregnant women was calculated to be 57% (Hb <11g/dL) out of which 44% had mild anemia, 11% had moderate anemia while only 1% had severe anemia. As a result of this study, no individual factor could found to be associated with anemia in pregnancy. However, all the factors such as young age, third trimester, pica, illiteracy, working status, less than 24 months space between children, history of abortions, rural residence, less intake of green vegetables and meat were found to be associated with higher frequencies of anemia in pregnant ladies. Conclusions: In this study, it was found that anemia in pregnancy was a severe health problem in Pakistan, almost one out of every two women suffer from anemia during pregnancy. It is recommended that further researches should be carried out to know the cause of anemia and appropriate steps should be taken to alleviate this problem. Public awareness regarding this issue should be first priority.

Keywords: Anemia, pregnant women, antenatal care, pica.