Background: In many developing countries anaemia continues to be a major health problem and is associated with increased rates of both maternal and perinatal mortality, premature delivery, low birth weight besides other adverse outcomes. Anemia in pregnancy is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a hemoglobin concentration below 11 g/dL. Maternal mortality rates show a steep increase when maternal hemoglobin levels fall below 5.0 g/dl.

Materials & Methods: This is a retrospective hospital-based study carried out in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine and JNM Hospital, Kalyani (West Bengal). All antenatal women who were delivered in our institute from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2017 were included in the study. Data, in the form of hemoglobin percentage, registration status, age and parity of patients, address, baby weight, was collected.

Results: A total of 8107 patients delivered in the study period. Out of them, 7,153 (88.23%) were found to be anemic. As per WHO criteria, 4086 patients (57.12%) had mild anaemia, 2525 patients (35.3%) had moderate anaemia while 7.57% women had severe anaemia. 2406 patients (33.63%) were unregistered cases and 80.8% of the severe anaemia were unregistered. Most of the pregnant women (31.7%) were within the age group of 21–25 years. 54% patients were multigravida and 78% patients belonged to rural area. Out of the 7153 patients, 27 women delivered dead babies. 49% patients had baby weight in group of 2.1 to 2.5 kg.

Conclusion: Despite the various measures taken to control anaemia in pregnancy in the last few years, the severity of anaemia continues to remain a major public health issue.  A high prevalence of anemia in pregnant women apparently increases the maternal and fetal risks. The present setup infrastructure has to be strengthened so that every woman gets antenatal care.

Key words: Anemia, pregnancy, antenatal care

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