Prevalence of Anaemia among Pregnant Women at Booking in the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract

Background. Anaemia with an estimated prevalence of 35–75% among pregnant women is a major cause of maternal deaths in Nigeria. Objective. To determine the prevalence of anaemia, associated sociodemographic factors and red cell morphological pattern among pregnant women during booking at the University Teaching Hospital, Uyo. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional analytical study of 400 women at the booking clinic over a 16-week period. The packed cell volume and red cell morphology of each pregnant woman were determined. Their biodata, obstetric and medical histories, and results of other routine investigations were obtained with questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS Package version 17.0. Results. The mean packed cell volume was 31.8% ±3.2 and 54.5% of the women were anaemic. The commonest blood picture was microcytic hypochromia and normocytic hypochromia suggesting iron deficiency anaemia. Anaemia was significantly and independently related to a history of fever in the index pregnancy (OR = 0.4; P = 0.00; 95% CI = 0.3–0.7), HIV positive status (OR = 0.2; P = 0.01; 95% CI = 0.1–0.6), and low social class (OR = 0.3; P = 0.00; 95% CI = 0.2–0.7). Conclusion. Women need to be economically empowered and every pregnant woman should be encouraged to obtain antenatal care, where haematinics supplementation can be given and appropriate investigations and treatment of causes of fever and management of HIV can be instituted.

Anaemia in Pregnant Women of Sokoto Residents in North Western Nigeria

“…These findings are consistent with the earlier reports [10,12,14] but the higher prevalence of mild anemia compared to other types of anaemia in this study may be due to adequate knowledge of the factors that could cause anaemia and good dietary habits by the participants.…”

“…The revealed mean values of haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit during pregnancy of 11.1 ± 1.27 g/dL and 33.5 ± 3.2%, respectively in this study are in line with the previous reports [9,10,13]. However, these normal values observed in this study may be associated with increased number of non-anaemic pregnant women (60.8%) who must have had improved dietary intakes and proper antenatal care at UDUTH.…”

“…The overall prevalence of anaemia (Hb <11.0 g/dL) among the pregnant women in this study was 39.2% and this agrees with the previous findings [16,20,21] but it is contrary with the higher prevalence of 54.5-76.5% documented by other researchers [9][10][11]. However, the low prevalence of anaemia in this study may be associated with environmental factors and regular health education provided by the antenatal clinic.…”

“…In India, National Family Health Survey of 1998-1999 showed that 54% of women in rural and 46% of women in urban areas were anaemic [8] but in Nigeria, overall prevalence of anaemia of 54.5-62.6% has been observed in South-southern region of Nigeria [9,10] while prevalence rates of anaemia of 24.5%, 40.4% and 76.5% have been reported in Kano, Enugu and Abeokuta, respectively [11][12][13]. However, 21.3-32.5% prevalence of anaemia have been documented in Ethiopia and Uganda [14][15][16].…”

Low Birth Weight and Prematurity in Teenage Mothers in Rural Areas of Burkina Faso

“…This is not surprising, considering the interplay of fever with anemia, and the role of malaria in the occurrence of fever anemia and LBW in endemic areas [37].…”