Prevalence of Anemia and Its Association with Dietary Restrictions Among Pregnant Women in Eastern Gujarat's Tribal Communities

Context Anaemia is a very common health problem seen in developing countries. It leads to poor outcomes in pregnancy and complicates the life of the newborn in certain cases. In multiple surveys conducted over the years it is noted that the diet plays an important role in development of Anaemia, varying in the micronutrient intake, geographical location and season. Objectives • To assess the prevalence of Anaemia tribal women • To assess the association of food restriction with Anaemia. Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tribal district of Eastern Gujarat. This study was conducted at Anganwadi centre.The sampling type was purposive sampling, all those women who were pregnant and were in 15–49-year-old age groups, who were willing to take part in the study were included.Their hemoglobin levels were evaluated for anaemia and they were evaluated for food related deficiencies through a self-administered questionnaire. 80 women were included in the study and descriptive analyses was conducted to calculate frequencies with percentages and proportions of categorical variables in the total study sample. Chi-square tests were used to assess association of various food restrictions and anemia Results The mean hemoglobin of the study was 9.6+1.9 g/dl, prevalence of anemia was 76.25 %, out of which 85% of the population had mild anemia. A significant association was noted between food restriction/avoidance and Anaemia with a p value of 0.019. Conclusion Food restriction during pregnancy is associated with Anaemia in Pregnancy.