Anaemia in pregnancy-is it a persisting public health problem in porto Novo-cape verde?

Abstract

Almost half of the pregnant mothers globally presents haematological values indicative of anaemia and knowing the current situation in Porto Novo province is necessary to highlight antenatal health providers towards early detection and prompt management of anaemia in pregnancy. To study the prevalence of anaemia, types and causes of anaemia in pregnant mothers of Porto Novo province. A total of 160 blood samples were collected into EDTA tubes between 1-January to 31-March 2011, at the Antenatal Clinic of Hospital of Porto Novo during the first visit of the pregnant women to the reproductive section and Using Sysmex KX-21-N by Sysmex corporation, Japan. The haematological parameters of Haemoglobin (Hb), Haematocrit (HCT), Mean Cell Volume (MCV) and Red Cell Distribution Width in Coefficient Variation (RDW-CV) were determined in all the samples, the stages of each pregnancy were noted. The reference values for the pregnant women used in this study were as follows: Hb: 11.Og dL·;1, Hct: 35-49%, MCV: 80-100FL, RDW-CV: 11.5-14.5%. Out of the 160 pregnant women blood samples analyzed, 62(38.8%) were anaemic and the majority 71% were mildly anaemic cases whereas 29% were moderately anaemic and no severe anaemic cases recorded. Iron deficiency anaemia was 8.1% whereas 91.9% showed mixed anaemia indicating Normocytic-Normochromic, anaemia were higher (53.2%) in pregnant women in the second trimester. The administration of iron with folic acid (folicferro), vitamin B12 and food aid program should be re-inforced for all the pregnant women. © Medwell Journals, 2011.