Anaemia among pregnant women at booking in Sacred Heart Catholic Hospital Obudu: A secondary level health facility in South-south Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is a common obstetric problem in developing countries, where poverty, ignorance and disease are prevalent. It is responsible for a significant proportion of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The prevalence is believed to be higher in rural/semi urban communities, yet, few studies has determined the prevalence in secondary level health facilities which carter for most of them. Methods: The was a retrospective study of women who registered for antenatal care at the Sacred Health Catholic Hospital, Obudu, Cross River state, Nigeria from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2018. Data on age, parity, gestational age at booking, packed cell volume, HIV status and rapid diagnostic test for malaria results were obtained and analyzed. Results: A total of 2420 women booked for antenatal care in the health facility during the period. The mean age was 28.4 ± 5.1 years and the mean parity was 1.7±1.6. About 26.5% were nulliparous, 67.3% were para 1-4 while 5.1% were para 5 and above. The mean gestational age at booking was 22.2 ±5.8 weeks. Seventy-one per cent of the women booked in the second trimester while only 8.3% booked in the first trimester. The mean packed cell volume (PCV) was 31.2 ± 3.8%. Over half (65.2%) of the women were anaemic (PCV < 33%), 0.4% had severe anaemia (PCV < 20%). Anaemia was significantly more among women that booked in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. There was no significant association between parity, age and HIV status with anaemia at booking.