Anaemia occurring during pregnancy is
Seventy five booked antenatal women, aged 19 - 40
years, with gestational ages of 27– 40 weeks, were recruited for
the study. We observed that among 75 antenatal mothers, the
Haemoglobin level was less than 10grams% in 83% cases and
In conclusion, the impact of antenatal screening in developing
countries on the reduction maternal mortality will depend on how well
they screen for and manage pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, malaria and HIV;
the three main causes of maternal mortality with detectable preclinical
phases. In other words, antenatal care services in developing countries
can have only limited impact on reducing maternal mortality because
most of the major causes of maternal mortality do not have detectable
preclinical phases. Antenatal screening will have even less impact in
low HIV and low malaria prevalence countries or in countries with
high HIV or Malaria prevalence but in which antenatal care services
are not geared towards early detection and prompt management of
these conditions.
The top three priorities for the reduction of maternal mortality
ought to be universal access to family planning services, skilled
attendance at every birth and prompt access to emergency obstetric care
when the need arises. Antenatal care services contribute immensely to
newborn survival; it is for this reason that they must be strengthened.
Access to antenatal care services will contribute in a little way but will
not yield significant reductions in maternal mortality.
References
1. Hall MH, Chng PK, MacGillivray I (1980) Is routine antenatal