Objective:

To assess the frequency of adverse outcomes due to maternal anemia.

Methodology:

This was a retrospective, cohort study of singleton deliveries registered in a tertiary care hospital, in Karachi from 2021 to 2022. The concentration of Hemoglobin between 10.0 to 10.09 g/dl is considered as mild anemia, while 9.0 to 7.0 g/dl concentration indicates moderate anemia, and < 7.0 g/dl hemoglobin concentration is known as severe anemia (WHO).during antenatal investigations. SPSS 22 was used to analyze the data, Qualitative data was interpreted as mean and standard deviation while categorical data were presented in frequencies and percentages. The chi-Square test was used to assess significance with a p-value of ≤0.05 as significant.

Results:

A total of 328 participants were included in the study, with a mean age of 26.7 ± 8.5 Years. Only 5 (1.7%) stillbirths were documented, while emergency caesarian deliveries for current pregnancy were reported in 138 (46%) along with 17 (5.7%) instrumental deliveries. Excessive blood loss was determined as ≥ 700mL in normal vaginal deliveries while ≥ 1100 mL in the caesarian section. Reported adverse outcomes in anemic mothers were low birth weight 84(25.6%), IUGR 23 (7%), and Low Apgar at 1 min and 5 min 32(9.7%) and 24 (7.3%) respectively. Intrauterine fetal death was reported in 3(0.9%) patients.

Conclusion:

It is critical to identify at-risk women and ensure that enough and timely care is delivered. The emphasis should be on good and enough maternal nutrition, and women should be encouraged to seek frequent antenatal care.

Keywords:

Maternal Anemia, Prenatal complications, maternal mortality