Anaemia in pregnancy

Four hundred and thirty-five pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) were investigated. The ages of the women ranged from 16-42 years with an average haemoglobin level of 10.52 gms%. The prevalence rate of anaemia among these antenatals was 20.7% and 2.8% had severe anaemia. This shows that anaemia is still a problem in Nigeria. Mothers in the age groups 10-19 years and 30-39 years constituted higher percentages of anaemic cases compared to the other age groups. The percentages of the pregnant women who were anaemic were also higher in social-classes IV and V contributing 27.6% and 21.9% respectively. One hundred and eight (49.4%) of the pregnant women booked for antenatal care during the 3rd trimester and the percentage of anaemia was highest in this group 54 (28.4%). About half of the mothers who were para 5+ were anaemic. Nutrition education components of the antenatal care should be intensified. In this regard, mothers should be encouraged to participate actively in income generating activities to improve their economic and nutritional status. Also, during the health education activities in the clinics, the importance of family planning and early bookings for antenatal care need to be stressed.