Incidence of anemia among obstetric patients in an Appalachian teaching clinic.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of iron deficiency anemia in an obstetrics clinic with a secondary objective to determine predictors of iron deficiency anemia.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of obstetric patients from the Charleston Area Medical Center Women's Medicine Center, a clinic at Women and Children's Hospital. Data were collected on Women's Medicine Center patients who delivered at Women and Children's Hospital during a 1-year interval, through chart review linked with hospital database and birth certificate data for comorbidities.

RESULTS

Inclusion criteria were met by 685 patients. Anemia was present in 32/619 (5.2%) at intake and in 191/670 (28.5%) at delivery. The prevalence throughout pregnancy was 35.6%. Anemia was detected at first encounter or at 28 weeks in 123 (18.0 %) patients who were also tested at delivery. Of the 52 (42.3%) who received iron supplementation, 35(67.3 %) remained anemic at delivery. There were no statistically significant predictors.

CONCLUSION

Anemia continues to plague obstetrical patients and its prevalence in our patient population was surprisingly high. Further investigation is warranted to better understand the apparent ineffectiveness of iron supplementation.