Anemia in pregnancy: a study among attendees of primary health care centers

Anemia in pregnancy remains a major problem in nearly all developing and many industrialized countries. The World Health Organization estimates that 58% of pregnant females in develop- ing countries are anemic,1 In the Arab Gulf countries, maternal anemia, especially iron deficiency anemia has been considered as of the important public health prob- lems with a prevalence ranging from 22,6% to 54,0%,2 High parity with iron deficiency was found to be an im- portant risk factor for maternal mortality at King Fahad University Hospital, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, during the 20 year-period from 1983 to 2002,3 Several stud- ies have reported the risks of pregnancy anemia on the mother and her offspring. In a review of those studies, Scholl and Hediger suggested that anemia during early pregnancy increases the likelihood of poor outcomes such as preterm deliveries, low birth weight and peri- natal mortality,4 A higher risk of urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis and pre-eclampsia has been reported in observational studies on iron-deficient women who are not necessarily anemic,5 There is lack of recently pub- lished data on maternal anemia from the urban area of Al-Khobar (Eastern province). This study was therefore conducted to determine a) the magnitude of anemia among pregnant women attending primary health care centers (PHCCs) of Al-Khobar and b) the association of pregnancy anemia with certain socio-demographic, biological and dietary factors,