Says maternal and child health programmes need urgent attention.
A study done in three public maternity hospitals in Mumbai reveals that awareness about anaemia is very poor among women. The study which was done by a Delhi-based organisation, finds that there is an urgent need in maternal and child health programmes to emphasise the importance of the mother’s health.
Dr Rekha Daver, head of gynaecology at JJ hospital, said, “Girls from lower socio-economic strata are unaware of the concept of eating nutritious food. Even if they are, they do not have the means to prepare it. Correcting anaemia in adolescents is very important as these girls will go on to bear children. If they are unhealthy, then their children will be unhealthy as well.”
According to the study, it was found that women perceived anaemia as ‘normal during pregnancy’ because their body had to share resources with the foetus. They couldn’t recognise weakness and dizziness as symptoms of the disease.
Anaemia is one of the main reasons for the increasing number of maternal deaths in the city, according to the findings of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s maternal death committee.
A woman is termed anaemic if her haemoglobin level falls below 12gm/100ml. This can directly affect her physical and mental development, cause infections and affect future pregnancies.
The study concluded that the health education programmes for women and household members have to highlight the seriousness of anaemia and address socio-cultural norms and gendered behaviour in families with respect to nutrition and health.
Dr Duru Shah, gynaecologist and member of The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) had conducted a Mumbai-based study sometime ago that found that 60% of girls suffer from some level of anaemia, while 7% suffer from thyroid-related problems.
“We found that in over half the girls, haemoglobin levels were less than normal,” said Dr Shah.
Haemoglobin levels of 11 and above are considered normal for Indian girls. But while most anaemic girls fell in moderate to mild category, nine had severe anaemia. “We found that a few girls had haemoglobin levels as low as 4.2 units,” said Dr Shah.
Blood count
Anaemia is a condition where haemoglobin falls below 13.5gm/100 in men and below 12gm/100 ml in women. For Indian women, even 11gm/100 ml is considered normal.
Not all anaemics show symptoms. Some may feel tired, fatigued, appear pale and feel shortness of breath. It is one of the main reasons for the increasing number of maternal deaths.
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