Awareness regarding Anemia in Antenatal women attending tertiary care hospitals in South India

Abstract

Lack of adequate nutrition during pregnancy is one of the major risk factors for the development of anemia which further leads to a high-risk pregnancy. Anemia in pregnancy accounts for one-fifth of maternal deaths and is a major factor responsible for low birth weight. The aim of the study was to evaluate the awareness about anemia among the antenatal women attending tertiary care hospitals in South India and also to find out the methods adopted by the women to prevent and correct their anemia. It was a cross-sectional type of study conducted on pregnant women who gave consent. . A majority of the pregnant women were aware of the term anemia and the most common source of their knowledge was their treating physician, followed by ASHA/Anganwadi worker and friends/family. Half of the participants in the study were well aware that anemia was a problem related to blood and a majority knew that it is most common in pregnant women. Around half of the study population knew the correct value of minimum Hb level in a pregnant woman and even a lesser percentage of women knew about the consequence of severe anemia during delivery. Most of the pregnant women were including iron-rich foods normally in their diet. A majority of the respondents noticed a health benefit after taking the iron and folic acid tablets. Thus, there is a need to endorse the IFA tablets and educate the women about the anemia in pregnancy so that the health benefits of the free supplementation program of the government percolates down to even the lower strata of the society.