Prevalence of anaemia and its socio demographic determinants among pregnant women attending government maternity hospital, tirupati, a.p

Original Article Pregnant women Anaemia Socio-demographic determinants Gravida Per-capita monthly income. Context: Anaemia during pregnancy is neglected in developing countries although it is one of the most prevalent public health problems and has serious consequences for national development. It is the second most common cause of maternal deaths, accounting for 20% of total maternal deaths. It also significantly increases the maternal morbidity, fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity including premature delivery and low birth weight. Objective: To find the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women and its relation to certain socio-demographic factors. Study setting and design: A cross sectional study on 300 newly registered pregnant women in 12-20 weeks of gestation attending the antenatal clinic of Government Maternity Hospital, Tirupati during April to September 2009 selected by using simple random sampling technique. Materials and methods: Haemoglobin estimation was done by Cyanmethemoglobin method using the Systronic Photo calorimeter. The WHO cut off levels were used for diagnosis and grading of anaemia. The pregnant women were interviewed using pre-tested interview schedules. Modified BG Prasad classification scales of per-capita monthly income were used for assessment of economic status. The results were analyzed using MS Excel and Epi-info 3.4.2 version. Results: A high prevalence of anaemia was found among the pregnant women (70.7%). High prevalence of anaemia was observed in less