ABSTRACT

 Anaemia in expectant mother is a serious worldwide public health problem with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Hematological parameters indicative of pregnancy anaemia need to be investigated to provide basis for prompt management of anaemia in pregnancy. I he study ss'as designed to assess the prevalence of anaemia and socioeconomic status of pregnant women in Umuahia South L.G.A. of Abia State, Nigeria. A total of 348 respondents were selected using muti-stage random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to determine their socio-economic characteristics, obstetric information and food consumption pattern ofthe respondents. World Health Organization reference standards were used to categorize the hemoglobin and packed cell volume status of the respondents. Information on the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents revealed that more than half (51.7%) ofthe respondents were between 20-29 year’s of age while some of them (34.8%) were within the age bracket of 30-39 years. Almost all of the respondents were married (93.7%), Christians (98.6%) and originated from Igbo tribe (98.3%). More educated persons (tertiary education -40.8%) were involved in this study. Results on the Hemoglobin levels of nursing mothers showed that majority (93.4%) of tire pregnant were normal while a few (6.6%) of them had either mild or moderate anemia status. Packed cell volume (PCV) status of the subject showed that almost all (94.5%) of the respondents involved in this study were normal. Relationship analysis revealed that a significant relationship (P<0.05) exist between respondents age and anemia (X2= 8.32; P=0.00). anaemia levels reported are low but persistent and presents a potentially serious public health problem to tire mother, foetal growth, and delivery outcome and therefore require serious attention. It is recommended that the State government initiate free iron supplementation and enlist services of extension nutritionists in an integrated programme for the prevention and management of pregnancy related anaemia.