Prevalence of Anemia among Pregnant women in Tarhuna district, Libya

Abstract

Anaemia is one of the most frequent medical conditions during pregnancy, it causes about one-fifth of maternal deaths worldwide and is a major factor responsible for low birth weight babies. Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in the Tarhuna region, western Libya. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on a group of 229 pregnant women in Tarhuna district, Libya during November and December 2022. Venous blood samples from all study participants "supported by a questionnaire containing main information" were collected and checked for complete blood count (CBC). According to the guidelines recommended by the WHO, a haemoglobin level in the blood of less than 11.0 g/dL is considered anaemia. Results: The findings of the current study showed that the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women was 44.98%, out of which 42.80% had mild anaemia, and 2.18% had severe anaemia. Conclusions: There is a significantly high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in the third trimester in the Tarhuna region, this study also elucidated some of the socio-demographic factors that contribute to such a high ratio, e.g. consuming irregular diet do not contain a sufficient quantity of vitamins B12 and folic acid, drinking coffee and/or tea with meals, and lack of health education.