Rarity of Anaemia of Pregnancy in Ethiopia

Hb and PCV values were studied in three groups of Addis Ababa women during their last month of pregnancy and compared with those in a control group of non-pregnant Addis Ababa women. Irrespective of socio-economic group and parity, the Hb and PCV values were almost identical in all four groups. In one of the three test groups, a group of 'non-privileged' multiparae, S-iron, S-transferrin (TIBC), S-folate and S-vitamin B12 were also examined and showed normal values. These findings indicate a rarity not only of true anaemia but also of 'physiological anaemia of pregnancy'. This latter may not, therefore, be an adaptive phenomenon of regular occurrence as has usually been assumed hitherto. The explanation for the aberrant haematological behavior in pregnant women living in highland Ethiopia is probably the lifelong exposure to a very high iron intake combined with hypoxia due to the high altitude.