A STUDY ON ASSOCIATION OF SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AMONG ANAEMIC PREGNANT MOTHERS AT RHC.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of illness or disability, allowing individuals to lead socially and economically productive lives. A WHO expert panel has suggested that anaemia should be diagnosed when haemoglobin levels fall below 13g/dl in adult men, 12g/dl in non-pregnant adult women, and below 11g/dl in pregnant women. Anaemia during pregnancy is typically due to iron deficiency. WHO estimates that two billion people worldwide are affected by anaemia, with around 50% of cases caused by iron deficiency. Anaemia is linked to several maternal and foetal complications, including reducing a woman's ability to cope with blood loss during or after childbirth. It is also associated with low birth weight, premature delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, and higher perinatal mortality. Aim: To assess the association of various socioeconomic and demographic factors on anaemia and the degree of anaemia found in pregnant mothers at RHC. Objectives: 1. To assess the influence of social and economic status and factors influencing anaemia in pregnant mothers using B.G. Prasad classification. 2. To assess the influence of demographic factors like parity, education, occupation, etc. on anaemia in pregnant mothers. 3. To assess the utilization of various ANC services being provided at RHC especially the use of iron and folic acid tablets. Materials and Methods: This is a longitudinal prospective observational study conducted in a field practice area. The study was undertaken at a RHTC under Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital. All the pregnant women who were anaemic i.e. whose Hb levels were less than 11g/dl (according to WHO classification) and who had no other comorbidities who visited the RHTC for the first time were included in the study. All pregnant women whose Hb levels were below 11g/dl and who visited the RHTC for the first time for various antenatal services during the study period were included in the study. All anaemic pregnant women in any trimester of pregnancy were included in the study. Results: Table shows the level of anaemia among the 178 subjects included in the study divided according to the WHO classification of anaemia in pregnancy. It shows that 61 participants (34.26%) had mild anaemia, 98(55.05%) mothers had moderate anaemia whereas 19(10.6%) had severe type of anaemia. According to table 7 of the 178 pregnant anaemic mothers, 39(21.91%) were taking iron and folic acid tablets regularly, 66(37.07%) were taking iron and folic acid tablets irregularly whereas 73(41.01%) were not taking any iron and folic acid tablets. Of the 178 participating anaemic pregnant mothers, 123(69.10%) visited ANC units 1-2 times and 55(30.89%) visited ANC units 3 or more times. As seen in table 8, of the 123 pregnant mothers with anaemia who visited the ANC unit 1-2 times in the present pregnancy, 41(33.33%) had mild anaemia, 67(54.47%) had moderate anaemia and 15(12.19%) had severe anaemia. Of the 55 pregnant mothers with anaemia who visited the ANC unit 3 or more times in the present pregnancy, 20(36.36%) had mild anaemia, 31(56.36%) had moderate anaemia and 4(7.27%) had severe anaemia. Conclusion: Most of the anaemic pregnant women were in middle socioeconomic class i.e. class 3 with majority having completed primary education and were Hindu housewives with mixed diets living in a joint family. Even with the low levels of Hb most of the women were not taking any IFA tablets and the birth spacing was not 3 years in majority of the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]