Frequency of anemia in pregnant women of different age groups at Quetta: A hospital-based cross sectional study

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the aimed to determine the frequency of anemia and lack of hemoglobin in human pregnancy at Bolan Medical College Hospital Quetta during 2017. As many as 625 pregnant women patients were examined, of these 350 were found anemic. Blood samples of randomly selected three hundred and fifty pregnant women of age group 17-44 years were analyzed, and was classified under first trimester (21), second trimester (58) and third trimester (271). The data was analyzed to estimate the frequency of anemia during pregnancy ranging from mild: 288 (46.1%) to moderate: 54 (8.6%) and severe: 8 (1.3%). Findings revealed that anemia was found to be prevalent in third trimester (271) as compared to the second (58) and first (21) trimester of pregnancy. Chi-square test was applied at 5% level of significance to check the association between age groups, parity and gestation age (G age). Significant association was found with anemic level at p-value <0.001 in age group and G age, whereas parity was not found associated with anemic level at 5% level of significance. The present study revealed that overall prevalence rate of anemia was 56% which indicated high prevalence of this disease in the region. The study concluded that pregnant women are at high hazard of blood anemia. Fresh balanced diets rich in iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 are recommended for their health and fine growth of developing baby.