Anaemia crisis in Indian women: Delaying pregnancy, using toilets can help

Higher proportion of Indian women who were pregnant were anaemic in 2016 (50%) when compared to China (32%), Bangladesh (46%), and Nepal (40%), according to data from the World Bank   

 

Health News: Improved sanitation facilities and delayed pregnancy in India could reduce the rates of anaemia in pregnant women faster. The prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women in India (50%) is higher than all South Asian nations except Pakistan.

A one-year increase in age at pregnancy between 2002-04 and 2012-13, and a 10% reduction in open defecation could each result in a 3.5- to 3.8-percentage point reduction in anaemia in pregnant women, found a March 2018 study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Anaemia–low blood haemoglobin levels–which impacts half of Indian women of reproductive age, increases the risk of maternal mortality, infection, preterm delivery, poor foetal and infant health, and puts children at lifelong risk of issues involving cognitive development and physical growth.

“Multisectoral public health policies and programmes that simultaneously target women’s education, early marriage, open defecation and promotion of diets rich in iron and folic acid and low in phytate are likely to have the greatest impact on anaemia reduction among pregnant women,” according to the study, co-authored by Suman Chakrabarti, Nitya George, and Samuel Scott of the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI), Moutushi Majumder of the Public Health Foundation of India, and Neha Raykar of Oxford Policy Management.

Between 2002 and 2012, the duration of the study, anaemia prevalence among pregnant women fell from 82.1% to 66.4%, women got pregnant later, were more educated, and received more antenatal care visits, the study found.

But a higher proportion of Indian women who were pregnant were anaemic in 2016 (50%) when compared to China (32%), Bangladesh (46%), and Nepal (40%), according to data from the World Bank. Only Pakistan had a higher rate (51%) of anaemia among pregnant women. The world average is 40.1%.

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