Role of Anemia in Term and Preterm Pregnancies

The present study assessed the prevalence of anemia in term and preterm pregnancies and compared maternal and perinatal outcomes among groups.

This study compared the prevalence of anemia in-

• Term births
• Preterm births and their types-

o spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), 

o preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM), 

o or provider-initiated preterm birth (piPTB))

• Women with anemia in term groups
• Women with anemia in preterm groups

It correlated maternal and neonatal findings. It also identified conditions independently associated with anemia in term and preterm groups.

The study found-

• Hemoglobin level data for 3716 preterm and 1048 term births. 
• 33.23% of preterm pregnancies showed the prevalence of anemia 
• 27.74% of term pregnancies showed the prevalence of anemia. 
• pPROM group showed higher incidence of anemia
• Age less than eight schooling years, maternal age <19 years old, non-white skin color, and children under five years showed higher association with anemia and PTB. 
• In this group, anemia caused adverse perinatal outcomes, including the need for ventilatory support, sepsis, endocrine dysfunction, small for gestational age newborns, 5th minute Apgar score <7, and neonatal death. 
• Multivariate analysis showed an association between the living area and anemia in the term group, urinary tract infection and anemia in sPTB and piPTBgroup, neonatal morbidity, inadequate number of prenatal care visits, and anemia in the pPROM group.

This study highlights the risk factors of anemia like, poor maternal education, children below five years, late onset of prenatal care, and less than six medical visits.  It is more prevalent in preterm births, especially among cases of pPROM.

Source: Figueira CO, Gomide HM, Guida JP, Dias TZ, Lajos GJ, Tedesco RP, et al. The Role of Anemia in Term and Preterm Pregnancies: Evidence from the Brazilian Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP). Arch Obstet Gynecol. 2021;2(2): 39-50.