Abstract

Background;Anemia is one of the commonest health problems in the world but our country leads in the list of heavy burden of this deficiency disorder.Anemia in pregnancy is associated with low birth weight in the babies as well as preterm birth. Objectives;Estimate the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women and relation of anemia with low birth weight. Methods:The study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. A total of 199 pregnant women were found registered in 2016 and who delivered upto march 2017 were included in the study.Information on socioeconomic and demographic variables were collected using a pre-tested and structured interview schedule. One hemoglobin determination taken at the time of registration of the pregnant was taken to avoid repeated measurements. Results:199 pregnant women in the age group of 15 to 45 years, with majority (60.3%)in the age group of 21 to 30 years. 55.27% of the study subjects belonged to lower social classes.9.04% were possessing higher education levels(graduation and above). 79.88%(143/179) had deliveries conducted at government institutions , 18.99%(34/179) at private institutions and two were home deliveries.74.30%(133/179) had caesarean deliveries with 25.69%(46/179) normal type of deliveries.90.45% had anaemia (180 out of 199) at the time of registration. 75.4% having moderate anemia and only 1.5% with severe anemia. 8.37% were low birth weight babies.Conclusion: A high burden of anemia was found in this study