A study of prevalence of anemia and sociodemographic factors associated with anemia among pregnant women in Aurangabad city, India

Background: Anemia in pregnancy accounts for one fifth of maternal deaths worldwide and is a major factor responsible for low birth weight. In India, 16% of maternal deaths are attributed to anemia. The association between anemia and adverse pregnancy outcome, higher incidence of preterm and low-birth weight deliveries have been demonstrated. However, high prevalence of anemia among pregnant women persists in India despite the availability of effective, low-cost interventions for prevention and treatment. A knowledge of the sociodemographic factors associated with anemia will help to formulate multipronged strategies to attack this important public health problem in pregnancy. Aim: To study the prevalence of anemia and the various sociodemographic factors associated with anemia among pregnant women at an urban health center in Aurangabad city, India. Setting: Urban Health Center (UHC) of Government Medical College, Aurangabad, India. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out from August 2006 to July 2008. A total of 352 pregnant women were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. The participants were included only after confirmation of the pregnancy. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test, Chi-square test for trend. Results: Overall prevalence of anemia among the pregnant women was found to be 87.21%. Factors such as religion, level of education of women and their husbands and socioeconomic status were found to be significantly associated with the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy ( P Conclusion: Low socioeconomic class, illiteracy, Hindu religion were significantly associated with high prevalence of anemia during pregnancy in Indian women.