Anemia in Saudi Pregnant Still a Health Problem

Objectives: To determine prevalence of anemia and degree of severity among pregnant women attending booking prenatal clinic. Setting: King Abdul-Aziz University hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective analysis of booking hemoglobin (Hgb) over period of 4 years (between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007). Hemoglobin (Hgb) level results were reviewed and analyzed with respect to age, nationality, gra-vidity, and the number of previous abortion. Results: Of the 8981 of hemoglobin (Hgb) tests were done, 3869 (43.1%, 95% CI: 42.06 - 44.1%) were anemic, of which 3383 (37.7%, 95% CI: 36.64 - 38.65%) having mild anemia, 462 (5.1%, 95% CI: 4.69 - 5.6%) having moderate anemia, and only 24 (0.3%, 95% CI: 0.18 - 0.4) having severe anemia. Severe anemia was more prevalent among primigravi-da (0.5%) and teenager (0.4%) groups. Conclusion: Anemia is common (43.1%) among our pregnant women and the majority (37.6%) is mild. Severe anemia is rare (0.3%) and it is more prevalent among primi-gravida and teenager groups.