Abstract

Anemia among Pregnant Women in a Rural Area of Katihar District, Bihar

Anemia is a major public health problem affecting both the developed as well as the developing countries. According to World Health Organization, prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women is 56% in the developing world. India has the highest prevalence of anaemia and 20% of total maternal deaths are due to anemia. According to NFHS-5 data the prevalence of anemia in rural area of Bihar is 63.9%.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of anaemia in rural pregnant women. To study the factors associated with anemia.

Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out among 217 pregnant women registered at our rural health training centre. All these pregnant mothers gave informed consent to participate in the study. A structured interview schedule was administered and hemoglobin levels were recorded from their mother child protection card. A mean hemoglobin value was calculated and anaemia was defined as a hemoglobin level <11 g/dl as per WHO classification.

Results: The prevalence of anemia was 81.57% among the pregnant females in this region of rural India. Out of these 42.20% had mild anemia, 38.25% had moderate anemia and 0.92% had severe anemia according to WHO classification of anemia.

Conclusion: High prevalence of anemia among pregnant women indicates anemia to be a major public health problem in the rural community and indicates strict implementation of national nutrition anemia prophylaxis programme.

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