ABSTRACT
Background: Birth weight is the single largest determinant of the neonatal survival and wellbeing. Maternal anaemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and is associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. The effect of haemoglobin levels of the mother on the foetus however remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effect of maternal anaemia on neonatal birth weight. It also evaluates the effect of parity, gestational age and maternal age on the new-born birth weight.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on patients who had delivered in Al Falah hospital, a newly setup medical college in rural Haryana. The population was studied for maternal age, gestational period, and parity and haemoglobin levels. These parameters were correlated with neonatal birth weight. The study was carried out on deliveries which occurred over a period of six months from November 2018 to April 2019.Results: The low birth weight new-borns were 10.5%. Maternal anaemia was present in 79.74 % of women in the study group. Amongst all parameters studied, only higher parity and greater period of gestation had a positive correlation with neonatal birth weight. Haemoglobin levels or maternal age didn’t show a significant impact on the neonatal birth weight. Anaemic mothers didn’t have a higher incidence of low birth weight babies.Conclusion: The most significant contributor to improved neonatal weight is the gestational age of the foetus. All efforts to ensure better neonatal outcome must primarily concentrate on prevention of preterm births. Maternal haemoglobin levels do not directly impact the neonatal birth weight. However, as anaemia is a risk factor for preterm delivery, anaemia indirectly impacts on the neonatal birth weight and outcome.
ABSTRACT
Background: Anaemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy. It is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. This study analyses the prevalence and pattern of anaemia and correlates it with booking status in a new medical college in rural Haryana.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted to analyze prevalence, severity and morphology of anaemia in hospitalized pregnant patients at the time of labour in a new medical college in rural Haryana. Antenatal booking status was correlated with haemoglobin levels and severity. The study was conducted over a period of six months from Nov ’18 to April’19.Results: 390 singleton labour patients at or near term with no other known medical complications were evaluated. Prevalence of anaemia in the centre serving as a referral with onsite blood bank facilities was as high as 79.7 %. 47.9% of patients did not have even a single antenatal visit. 50.8% had microcytic hypochromic anaemia followed by 32.3% who had normal morphological picture; dimorphic was 14% and macrocytic 2.8%. The prevalence in booked patients was 78.91% compared to 80.1% in unbooked.Conclusions: Anaemia continues to be a major challenge to the obstetric services despite targeted efforts by the government and various organizations to provide free prophylaxis. Iron deficiency or nutritional anaemia is the commonest. However, booking visits, counselling and free distribution of iron tablets doesn’t ensure that the patient is protected from anaemia. This raises concerns about compliance and hence effectiveness of oral iron therapy. An aggressive strategy for diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of anaemia as well as a method to ensure compliance must be developed.