Prevalence of Anemia and Its determinants among Pregnant Women in a Rural community of Jhalawar, Rajasthan

Abstract

Introduction: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional deficiency in pregnant women. WHO estimates that anaemia affects 33% of women of reproductive age globally (about 613 million women between 15 and 49 years of age). Anaemia in pregnancy is a major issue in form of abortion, premature birth, in- trauterine growth retardation, high infant mortality and 20 to 40 percent maternal death of India. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and to determine association of anemia with socio-demographic factors. Material and Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among the pregnant women of rural area. A pre- designed and pre-tested proforma was used to collect the informa- tion regarding socio-demographic characteristics and possible risk factors of anemia. Association was established by using chi square test. Results: The Prevalence of anemia among the pregnant women was 81.8%. 35.0% women were mild anemic, 45.4% were moderate and 1.4% were severe anemic. Occurrence of anemia was signifi- cantly associated with age, occupation, Parity, Timing of first ANC check up and IFA consumption of study participants. Conclusion: A very high prevalence of anemia among pregnant women is a alarming sign and indicator of poor nutritional status and health care utilisation.

Keywords

• Anemia
• Pregnant women
• IFA
• Rajasthan
• Cross sectional study