IMPACT OF MATERNAL ANEMIA ON PERINATAL OUTCOME

Objective: To determine association between maternal anemia and poor perinatal outcome. Study Design: Cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, PNS Shifa Karachi, from Apr 2017 to Sep 2017. Material and Methods: A total of 643 women fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 342 women were anaemic (haemoglobin <11g/dl in labor and on two previous occasions in current pregnancy) and were labeled as group A. A total of 301 women had haemoglobin >11g/dl at all times during pregnancy and were labeled as non-anaemic group B. Perinatal outcomes included preterm delivery, low birth weight (LBW) at delivery, intrauterine growth restriction, APGAR score at 1 and 5 min, intrauterine fetal death (IUD) were calculated and compared among the two groups. Results: There were 229 (66.9%) cases of preterm delivery in group A compared to 44 (14.66%) in group B. Low birth weight (LBW) was observed in 124 (36.2%) cases in anaemic group and in 44 (14.6%) cases in non-anemic group B. There were 5 (1.4%) cases of stillbirth in anemic group as compared to 2 (0.66%) in non anemic women. In group A, new born of 109 (31.8%) cases showed Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration (APGAR) score <5 at 1 minute compared to 14 (4.6%) cases in other group. Similarly, the score <7 at 5 minutes was observed in 70 (20.4%) deliveries in group A and 12 (3.98%) in group B. Conclusion: Low maternal haemoglobin levels are associated with increased risk of preterm delivery, LBW babies, APGAR score <5 at 1 min and IUD.