Prevalence of anaemia and its association with dietary habits among pregnant women in the urban area of Haryana

INTRODUCTION: Anaemia is a major health problem in India especially among pregnant women and nutritional anaemia, primarily iron deficiency, is the most common type of anaemia caused primarily due to iron deficiency. About 58% of pregnant women in India are anaemic and it is estimated that anaemia is the underlying cause of 20–40% of cases of maternal deaths. Therefore, the present study was planned to study the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women and to explore the relationship between anaemia during pregnancy and different dietary factors. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of anaemia and dietary habits among pregnant women in an urban slum of Haryana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among pregnant women in the urban field practise area of Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak. All Pregnant women registered in 2018 were interviewed using a semi-structured pretested questionnaire. Observations were interpreted as per the WHO criteria. The data were analysed by SPSS statistical software version 20. RESULTS: Out of 408 study participants, 348 (85.3%) were anaemic with mild, moderate and severe anaemia in 80 (19.6%), 244 (59.8%) and 24 (5.9%), respectively. More than half (50.5%), of the anaemic mothers, were found in the first trimester, respectively. The association of vegetarian diet and tea consumption was statistically significant with the severity of anaemia. (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present findings showed a high prevalence of anaemia and unhealthy dietary habits significantly associated with it among pregnant women. Efforts to identify anaemia that may be responsive to modifiable factors such as diet to improve health outcomes are needed.