High Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anaemia Among Pregnant Women in District Peshawar: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Anaemia among pregnant women remains a pressing public health concern, especially in tropical developing nations. Having too few healthy red blood cells can cause extreme fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath for expectant mothers. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with iron-deficiency anaemia amidst expectant mothers in Peshawar District, Pakistan. A cross-sectional research design was employed, selecting 100 pregnant patients from Shah Medical Center in Peshawar using proportional-to-size sampling. Clinicians drew 4 ml of venous blood from participants to clinically assess anaemic status. The investigators aimed to elucidate the prevalence of deficient iron levels among local mothers-to-be and identify potential predisposing factors through statistical analysis of the collected medical data. Among 100 samples, 25 showed to be anaemic and the parameters were counted lower than normal.  As per the World Health Organization, the criteria for anaemia in pregnancy were applied and serum ferritin < 20µg/l was the cut-off point for iron deficiency. Data regarding risk factors was gathered using pre-designed questionnaires. The prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnant women was 22% while most of the cases of anaemia were mild. In this research, the risk factors accompanying anaemia included the period of gestation, poor advice, iron pills intake during antenatal, socioeconomic status, and poor hygiene condition. This study concludes that the high prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia among pregnant women can be averted if the prevention includes giving iron supplements, proper diagnosis of gestation, and health education