DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2013.v01i05.0054

Pages: 570-574

Anaemia in pregnancy is an important health problem in India. Anaemia among pregnant women includes increased risk of low birth weight, maternal mortality and morbidity. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anaemia which helps in planning our maternal health programme. A hospital based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 104 pregnant women, in their first trimester to assess the prevalence of anaemia in rural Krishna. The study was carried out at Dr PSIMS & RF Hospital , Chinnavutapalli. Only those who visited the hospital were enrolled in the study. Lablife H3D Premier automated haematology analyser was used for estimation of haemoglobin, MCV and MCH. Anaemia was classified as per the World Health Organization (WHO) grading criteria as mild 10 -11 gms%, moderate 7 to 9.9 gms % and severe below 7 gms %.. The present study revealed that 93.26 % of pregnant women were anaemic and their mean Hb was 10.37 ± 0.94 g/dl, mean MCV was 72.65 ± 6.53 fl and their mean MCH was 26.75 ± 2.75 pg. Among them, 73.07% had mild anaemia, 20.19 % had moderate anaemic & none had severe anaemia. In Mild anaemia, the mean Hb was 10.78 ± 0.5 g/dl while in moderate anaemia, the mean Hb was 8.94± 0.625g/dl . Anaemia in 1st trimester of pregnancy was endemic and microcytic, hypochromic anaemia is most common in this region.