Anaemia at the end of pregnancy, an assessment of women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is associated with high foeto-maternal morbidity and mortality. It has significant prevalence in Africa with poor pregnancy outcome.Methods: We assessed pregnant women presenting in labour, documented their booking status, age, haematocrit at presentation, their mode of delivery and occurrence of post-partum haemorrhage or not as well. Results: Four hundred and sixty-two (462) women were included in the study. Modal age group was 26-35 years [299 (64.7%)]. Majority were booked 402 (87.2%), 335 (70.3%), and 47 (10.2%), had moderate to severe anaemia and post-partum haemorrhage respectively. Patient’s booking status and packed cell were significantly associated with post-partum haemorrhage p= 0.04 and p<0.001 respectively. Conclusion: Anaemia in late pregnancy is common in our community, 70.3% of the women presented with varying degrees of anaemia. Booking status and packed cell volume are strong predictors of post-partum haemorrhage.