ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate serum iron concentration among pregnant women in Ikwuano L.G.A, Abia state. Inadequate iron intake can lead to varying degrees of deficiency, from low iron stores to early iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia and this is dangerous to both children and pregnant women including adults. A total of 36 pregnant women between the age gaps of 15-23, 24-31, 32-40 participated in the study: 16 pregnant women from rural health centers and 20 from semi urban. Hematological parameters analyzed was serum iron, packed cell volume, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Descriptive and inferential analysis was carried out using SPSS and reported as the mean ± standard error of mean. Anemia was defined as serum iron < lOOug/ml and Hb < ll.Omg/dl. Overall mean serum iron concentration was 144.49 ± 5.74, 158.18 ± 7.91 for semi-urban, 127.38 ± 6.24 for rural participants with significant difference between groups. Overall mean Hb concentration was 10.64 ± 0.21, 10.6 ± 0.29 semi-urban, 10.6 ± 0.32 gm/dl rural. Mean PCV for semi-urban was 32.0 ± 0.6 while the rural pregnant women had 31.94 ± 0.98. Significant and consistent relationship existed between Hb and PCV. The result apparently showed normal concentration of serum iron among the women with low hemoglobin concentration. Overall anemia in the region was recorded 52.78% while rural participants was 56.25%, 31.5% mild, 25 % moderate and no severe anemia the semi-urban counterpart had 50% anemia, 30% mild, 20% moderate and 0% severe anemia. It was concluded therefore, that although pregnant women in the region had normal concentration of serum iron, lower concentration of hemoglobin depicted anemia among the women with prevalence significantly higher in the rural than the semi-urban and at early age of pregnancy in the rural when compared to the semi-urban counterpart, this possibly could be related to malaria infestation in the rural and poor water treatment as iron was fully supplemented through the Iron folic supplementation programme. Thus, anemia designated a public health problem