Nutritional anaemia in pregnant women attending health centers in S. Paulo State (Brazil)

Abstract

In order to estimate the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women receiving attention at the "Program of Attention to Pregnant Women" (PAG) of the Secretariat of Health of the State of S. Paulo, and also with a view to analysing the item of PAG referring to iron supplementation, a probabilist sample of 4539, drawn from 15 Health Centers (HC), was studied. Anaemia was observed in 35.1% of the women (Hb < 11.0 g/dl), suggesting that iron deficiency is a considerable public health problem for the sample population. Based on these results the introduction of Hb determination as part of the "PAG" routine is suggested. Results should be related to gestational age. It is also suggested that, in some HC, efficiency of iron supplementation be evaluated.