Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia is the most common medical disorder of pregnant women. Especially severe anemia is an important factor increasing mortality. Therefore, promoting use appropriate doses and duration of iron has great importance to prevent iron deficiency in terms of health of the mother and baby. Objectives: This cross-sectional study was designed to determine the number of women who consumed iron, duration of intake during pregnancy, to examine the effect of age and the number of births on prenatal iron intake, and to determine prenatal anemia prevalence in a tertiary hospital which provides service for an area of medium and low-income families in Istanbul. Methods: 4,041 pregnant women who got admitted to our hospital for labor were enrolled in the study for a period of four years between 2001-2004. Age, number of pregnancies and duration of iron intake were recorded. Pregnant women with a less than 11 g /dl hemoglobin concentration were considered anaemic. Findings: Iron intake in pregnant women was 56% and the prevalence of anemia was 46%. Mean hemoglobin concentration was 11.1±1.5 g/dl, mean age was 26.5±5.4 years, and mean duration of iron intake was 3.0±2.2 months. Anemia was found in 36.4% of the iron supplemented group, and 58.1% of the unsupplemented group. Hemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (Hct), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) values were statistically different between two groups. It was determined that maternal age does not influence the use of iron; but an increase in parity caused a decrease in iron use and an increase in anemia prevalence. It was observed that there was an increase in the use of iron from 2001 to 2004. Conclusions: In conclusion, it was determined that approximately half the pregnant women admitted to the hospital for delivery received iron during their pregnancy; anemia is less common among iron receivers; iron intake is mainly affected by parity not by maternal age and the effect of iron on blood parameters is positive.