Prevalence and risk factors of Anaemia among Pregnant Women Consulted to the Reproductive Health Care unit of H.Dh. Regional Hospital, Maldives

Background: Anaemia is one of the common nutritional disorders during pregnancy and a major cause of maternal death.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 30% of the world's population are anaemic.The prevalence in developed countries is 14% and in developing countries is 51%.In the Maldives, the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women is 48.5% in 2016.This study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of anaemia in pregnant women of a community in the Maldives.Method: This is a quantitative, cross-sectional survey conducted among 53 pregnant women selected by a simple random sampling method.Data were collected through structured questionnaire forms.Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 25.0.The P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Haemoglobin classification showed 60.40% normal, 39.60% anaemic.33.96% of participants were known thalassaemia carriers, amongst them, 61.11% were found to be anaemic with P <0.026.Other factors studied showed no statistically significant association with anaemia.Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women is 39.60%.Thalassaemia carrier encountered in the population was found to be the main factor associated with the prevalence of maternal anaemia.