Anaemia among Pregnant Women Visiting Obstetric Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION

Anaemia is one of the common health problems of pregnant women and children in developing countries. Anaemia in pregnancy is related to poor foetal and maternal outcomes contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Anaemia is a treatable and preventable condition. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women visiting the Obstetric Department of a tertiary care centre.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the pregnant women visiting the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of a tertiary care centre for their antenatal checkup. The study was conducted from 2 November 2022 to 11 November 2022 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 11(6-11)E2/079/080). Pregnant women with a history of blood transfusion, anaemia of chronic disease like chronic kidney disease, history of recurrent bleeding, and referral cases from other centres were excluded from the study. Serum haemoglobin was used for diagnosing anaemia according to criteria given by the World Health Organization. Convenience sampling was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.

RESULTS

Among 442 pregnant women, the prevalence of anaemia was 24 (5.43%) (3.32-7.54, 95% Confidence Interval).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women was lower in comparison to other studies done in similar settings.

KEYWORDS: anemia; maternal-child health services; prevalence.