The patients enrolled in this study were all HIV infected pregnant women who were admitted and gave birth at the septic labor ward. The patients were verbally notified prior to participation. A sample of blood was routinely obtained and analyzed for complete blood count (CBC). Other blood tests such as serology for HBsAg, Anti-HCV, syphilis, hemoglobin typing were performed if the patients had never been tested. The eligible patients were classified to be either anemia, or no anemia group (normal group) following World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. A hemoglobin level of less than 11 g/dL, or hematocrit less than 33%, at any point during pregnancy was defined as anemia(13).