prevalence of iron deficiency on pregnant women in in the kerman city health centers, iran, 1999

background: iron deficiency is the most frequent cause of nutrition problems around the world. this investigation performed in order to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency in the last three months of pregnancy in women who referred to the kerman health centers, in 1999. methods: the sample size was estimated 350 based on a pilot study. the sampling technique was cluster random sampling and 12 clusters. for data analysis chi-square and exact fisher tests were used. results: the results showed that based on serum ferritin, hemoglobin and hematocrit, the prevalence of iron deficiency was 53.1%, 9% and 5.4%, respectively. the results also indicated serum ferritin, hemoglobin and hematocrit statistically related to abortion history, age of marriage, education and using iron products during pregnancy. conclusion : regarding the high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among pregnant women, consumption of iron complement during pregnancy is recommended.