Abstract
This study was carried out to assesshaemoglob-in levels of pregnant women resident in 3 health areas in the Polonnaruwa district. 978 pregnant women were randomly selected from among ante-natal clinic attendees, of whom 401 were from the Lankapura health area, 247 from the Dimbulagala health area and 330 from the Thamankaduwa health area. Capillary blood was obtained by finger prick and haemoglobin levels were estimated by the HemoCue method. Thirty seven percent of pregnant women were anaemic using a cutoff value of 11.0 g/dL. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of anaemia among the first 4 parities (p=0.5180). There were signi- ficant differences in the prevalence of anaemia between the 3 trimesters with the prevalence being highest during the 3rd trimester (44%). The prevalence of anaemia was highest among pregnant women in the Lankapura health area area (44%) and lowest among pregnant women in the Thammankaduwa health area (19%).
Highlights
Iron deficiency anaemia is the most widespread form o f micro-nutrient deficiency in both develo ping and developed countries o f the world, and its prevalence is found to be highest among in fants, young children and women o f child bea ring age, pregnant women ( 1 )
The ages o f the 9 7 8 pregnant women included in the study ranged from 16 to 42 years (Table 1)
When women of the first four parities were considered, there were no significant differences in the preva lence of anaemia between the 4 parities (p=0.5180)
Summary
Iron deficiency anaemia is the most widespread form o f micro-nutrient deficiency in both develo ping and developed countries o f the world, and its prevalence is found to be highest among in fants, young children and women o f child bea ring age, pregnant women ( 1 ). The effects of anaemia are devastating and include debilitating fatigue, compromised immune function, maternal deaths, Iron deficiency is highly prevalent in the developing world due to many causes. All coexist in poor households living in marginalised environments where the prevalence of anaemia invariably is highest. The low social status o f women is another important factor for the high prevalence of anaemia among women. Poor bio-availability o f dietary iron, and parasitic and other infestations combine to compromise an individual's iron status ( 1 )
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