Prevalence of anemia in pregnant women attending out-patient clinic: A cross-sectional study

Anemia is a very common condition in pregnancy. It represents one of the most common risk factors for maternal as well as fetal complications. Its early identification, treatment and prevention is necessary to avoid these complications. The objective of this study was to evaluate prevalence of anemia in pregnant women attending outpatient department. In this single center retrospective clinic-based study carried pregnant women attending for their regular ante-natal checkup were included. Demographic details, hemoglobin level and prior obstetric related history was noted. Prevalence of anemia was estimated based on the hemoglobin level. The severity of anemia was categorized as mild (Hb level 10 g/dL to 10.9 g/dL), moderate (Hb level 7 g/dL to 9.99 g/dL), severe (Hb level 7 g/dL).Corelates of anemia were examined based on the demographic parameters. The study included 199 pregnant females with mean (SD) age was 29.6 (4.1) years. Mean (SD) hemoglobin of the study population was 10.6 (1.4) gm. A total of 174 (87.44%) females were house-makers and 165 (82.9%) were from the urban area. Anemia was observed in 76 (38.2%) pregnant females. Mild, moderate and severe anemia was observed in 32 (42.11%), 43 (56.58%) and 1 (1.3%) female respectively. Out of 76 pregnant females with anemia, 66 (86.8%) were housemakers. No significant difference was observed in the mean age (p=0.34) and body weight (p=0.69) of pregnant females with or without anemia. There was no significant difference in the anemia prevalence in rural versus urban pregnant females (p=0.33). Prevalence of anemia in pregnant women was 38.2%. Moderate anemia was more common than mild and severe anemia. There was no significant difference in the mean age or residence of pregnant females with anemia versus without anemia.