ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Anemia in pregnancy is an important factor which is associated with a number of maternal and fetal complications. It is a major contributor to poor pregnancy and birth outcomes in developing countries. This study aims at finding the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women living in rural Warangal and to determine the socio-demographic features of pregnant women.METHODOLOGY: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Wardhanapet, the rural field practicing area of Kakatiya medical college, Warangal, Telangana. All pregnant women between the ages of 15 and 49 years were included in the study.The sample size was calculated by using the formula *P*Q/ = 382 pregnant women. Where Z is confidence level at 95% (standard value is 1.96); P is proportion (prevalence of anemia during pregnancy 54.4%, NFHS-5); L is precision at 95% CI = 0.05.Simple random sampling was done and the data was collected using a pre-designed, semi-structured questionnaire. Hemoglobin levels were taken from existing lab reports of the subjects. Hemoglobin cut-off for anemia during pregnancy was taken as per WHO criteria. The data collected was entered in MS-EXCEL and exported to SPSS V20 for further analysis. Chi square test was used to find out the significance and p value ≥0.05 was considered significant.RESULTS: Among 382 subjects, the prevalence of anemia was 62%. Of them, 40% (n=130) had mild, 55% (n=155) had moderate anemia and 5% (n=12) had severe anemia. Significant association was found between anemia and parity, birth spacing, intake of IFA tablets, education and type of diet. There was no association between age of the subject, age at first conception and socioeconomic status.CONCLUSION: As prevalence of anemia is 62%, efforts to identify modifiable factors of anemia the importance of prevention of anemia must be reinforced in pregnant women.
A Cross Sectional Study of Prevalence of ‘Anemia in Pregnancy’ and Its Outcome in Urban Population of New Delhi
