Abstract

Fawzia A. Rrhaiam*, Amal Elhassade, Mahbuba Hassan, Saliha Habeel and Nisreen Altomi

ABSTRACT

Background: Anemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and severe anemia is associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcome. Anemia in pregnancy is considered as one of the major risk factors for contributing 20-40% of maternal deaths directly or indirectly through cardiac failure, preeclampsia, antepartum hemorrhage, and postpartum hemorrhage. It is one of the most important health problems among women from 18 to 45 years of age in the world. Materials and Methods:- The study was conducted on a group of 200 pregnant women at alhrish clinic in Derna city, Libya. Data was collected using a questionnaire to collect data about socio-demographic characteristics obstetric history, and blood samples collected from capillary to investigate Hb level. Objective: - to evaluate the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women in Derna city. Results: The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women was 54.5%. The higher prevalence of anemia was in the third trimester of pregnancy (80 %) Anemia was more prevalent in pregnant women within age between 31-39 years. The prevalence of mild anemia was high in comparison to the other degrees of anemia (75.2%) Conclusions: The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in Libya is comparable to that considered as a severe public by WHO suggesting anemia among pregnant women is a public health problem in Libya. So, awareness regarding balanced diet, regular antenatal checkups, regular intake of iron and folic acid tablet is highly recommended