Maternal Anemia in Pregnancy: An Overview

Anemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and severe anemia is associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcome. It is one of the most important health problems among women from 18 to 45 years of age in the world. Anemia in pregnancy is considered as one of the major risk factors for contributing 20-40% of maternal deaths directly or indirectly through cardiac failure, preeclampsia, antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage and puerperal sepsis. As well as to low birth weight which in turn might contribute to increased percentage for infant mortality in developing countries. The prevalence of anemia in pregnancy varies considerably because of differences in socioeconomic conditions, lifestyles and health seeking behaviors across different cultures. Women of low socio-economic groups and teenagers are more susceptible towards anemia during pregnancy. More commonly, anemia in pregnancy is due to lack of iron and less often, it is caused by folic acid deficiency. Iron and folate supplementation is indicated during pregnancy to prevent the complications. In normal pregnancy, the hemoglobin concentration becomes diluted according to the increase in the volume of circulating blood. Anemia is diagnosed by estimating the hemoglobin concentration and examining a peripheral blood smear for the characteristic red blood cell changes. Satyam Prakash 1 , Khushbu Yadav 2 1 Department of Biochemistry, Janaki Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Janakpur dham , Nepal 2 Department of Microbiology, National Institute of Science and Technology , Kathmandu, Nepal. Submission: 3 October 2015 Accepted: 9 October 2015 Published: 25 October 2015 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Citation: Satyam Prakash et al. Ijppr.Human, 2015; Vol. 4 (3): 164-179. 165 INTRODUCTION Maternal Anemia is an extremely serious public health problem in developing countries during pregnancy. Anemia has severe nutritional and health consequences, including high maternal mortality, inadequate growth and impaired mental development in children. Anemia during pregnancy increases the risk of fetal growth retardation and low birth weight, premature delivery, increased perinatal mortality, and reduced resistance to infection of both mother and baby. Anemia also results in decreased work capacity, including reduced care giving and general productivity. The etiology of anemia is complex. Pregnancy is natural phenomenon and a woman‟s life is not complete until she becomes a mother. Women as a supreme creature of God go through a variety of physiological changes during pregnancy. Changes in the blood circulatory system are particularly notable, permitting normal fetal growth. About 20% of pregnant women suffer anemia, and most of the cases are iron deficiency, folic acid deficiency, or both [1]. Anemia is the commonest medical disorder in pregnancy and has a varied prevalence, etiology and degree of severity in different populations being more common in non-industrial countries [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that two billion people over 30% of the world‟s populations are anemic, although prevalence rates are variable because of differences in socioeconomic conditions, lifestyles, food habits, and rates of communicable and noncommunicable diseases [3]. The lowest normal hemoglobin in the healthy non-pregnant woman is defined as 12g/dl. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that hemoglobin ideally should be maintained at or above 11.0 g/dl, and should not be allowed to fall below 10.5 g/dl in the second trimester [4]. As per WHO guidelines, Anemia is classified as (1) Mild anemia (Hb 10 to 10.9 g/dl); (2) Moderate anemia (Hb 7 to 9.9 g/dl); (3) Severe anemia (Hb less than 7 g/dl); (4) Very severe (Hb less than 4 g/dl). Iron absorption during pregnancy is determined by the amount of iron in diet, its bioavailability and the changes in iron absorption that occur during pregnancy. An acid environment in the duodenum helps in the absorption of iron. The frequent ingestion of antacids and chronic use of www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Citation: Satyam Prakash et al. Ijppr.Human, 2015; Vol. 4 (3): 164-179. 166 H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors diminishes the iron absorption. Vitamin C, in addition to the iron, may increase acid environment of the stomach and increase absorption. Iron requirements are greater in pregnancy than in non-pregnant state. Although iron requirements are reduced in the first trimester because of absence of menstruation these raise steadily thereafter as high as ≥10 mg/day [5]. The amounts that can be absorbed from even an optimal diet, however are less than the iron requirement in later pregnancy and a women must enter pregnancy with iron stores of >300 mg if she is to meet her requirement fully [6]. Iron requirements are increased in pregnancy, especially in the third trimester when they may be several times higher than at other stages of the life cycle, the net iron requirements for pregnancy are 840 mg approximately [7]. Anemia is responsible for 20-40% of maternal deaths directly or indirectly through cardiac failure, preeclampsia, antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage and puerperal sepsis [8]. Pregnancy induced hypertension is five times more common in severe anemia and significant proportion of patients had postpartum haemorrhage with severe maternal Anemia [9]. The risk of preterm delivery was four times greater among women with anaemia [10]. Severe maternal anemia has poor outcome of neonates in the form of low birth weight, prematurity, intrauterine growth retardation, intrauterine death and birth asphyxia [11]. A pregnant woman must have at least 500 mg of stored iron to fulfill the requirements of gestation without the need for iron supplementation. Even though this deposit is present it will be completely exhausted by the end of gestation. The total iron requirement during pregnancy is 700-1400 mg. Overall requirements is 4mg-6mg per day, but this increases to 6-8 mg per day in the last weeks of pregnancy. Anemia is not only responsible for increase in perinatal and maternal mortality but also severely affects economic and social status of the country. There are many studies on anemia in pregnancy in Nepal. Anemia is a lack of functioning red blood cells (RBCs) that leads to a lack of oxygen-carrying ability, causing unusual complications during life time. These RBCs are produced in the bone marrow. They have a life expectancy of about 120 days. Among other things, the body needs iron, vitamin B12 & folic acid for erythropoiesis. If there is a lack of one or more of these ingredients or there is an increased loss of RBCs, anemia develops. Any patient with Hb of less than 11 gm/dl to 11.5 gm/dl at the start of pregnancy will be treated as anemic. The reason is that www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Citation: Satyam Prakash et al. Ijppr.Human, 2015; Vol. 4 (3): 164-179. 167 as the pregnancy progresses, the blood is diluted and the woman will eventually become anemic. The dilution of blood in pregnancy is a natural process and starts at approximately at the eighth week of pregnancy and progresses until the 32 nd to 34 th week of pregnancy [12]. Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells and their oxygen carrying capacity is insufficient to meet the body‟s physiological needs. RBCs plays a role to deliver oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs which is facilitated by hemoglobin, a tetramer protein composed of haem and globin. The reduction in the number of RBCs transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide results in impairment of gas exchange and this is due to anemia which may be either due to defective red cell production, increased red cell destruction or blood loss. Iron is necessary for synthesis of hemoglobin. Iron deficiency is thought to be the most common cause of anemia globally, but other nutritional deficiencies (including folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin A), acute and chronic inflammation, parasitic infections, and inherited or acquired disorders that affect Hb synthesis, red blood cell production or red blood cell survival also result in anemias. Iron deficiency anemia results in impaired cognitive and motor development in children and decreased work capacity in adults. The effects are most severe in infancy and early childhood. In pregnancy, iron deficiency anemia can lead to perinatal loss, prematurity and low birth weight babies. Iron deficiency anemia also adversely affects the body‟s immune response. The most common types of anemia areiron deficiency anemia, Thalassaemia, Aplastic anemia, Haemolytic anemia, Sickle cell anemia, Pernicious anemia, Fanconi anemia. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent cause of anemia which is usually due to chronic blood loss caused by excessive menstruation increased demand for iron, such as fetal growth in pregnancy [13]. Anemia can occur at any age and affect either gender, although it is more prevalent in pregnant women and young children [14]. The major risk groups for iron deficiency include women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and lactating postpartum women [15]. Maternal consequences of anaemia are also well known and include cardiovascular symptoms, reduced physical and mental performance, reduced immune function, tiredness, reduced peripartal blood reserves and finally increased risk for blood transfusion in the postpartum period. For clinical management, proper diagnosis and therapy are mandatory to reduce maternal and fetal risks and to enable optimal obstetrical outcome of both. www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Citation: Satyam Prakash et al. Ijppr.Human, 2015; Vol. 4 (3): 164-179. 168 Maternal Changes during Pregnancy During pregnancy, there is an increase in both red cell mass and plasma volume to accommodate the needs of the growing uterus and fetus. The circulating plasma volume increases linearly to reach a plateau in the 8 th or 9 th month of pregnancy. The increment is about 1000 ml, which corresponds to 45% of the circulating plasma volume in non-pregnancy. The plasma volume decreases rapidly after delivery and is then restored to the non-pregnancy level at about 3 puerperal weeks. However, plasma volume increases more than the red cell mass leading to a fall in the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood, despite the increase in the total number of red cells. This drop in hemoglobin concentration decreases the blood viscosity and it is thought this enhances the placental perfusion providing a better maternal-fetal gas and nutrient exchange [16]. Physiological hemo dilution of pregnancy and at what level of hemoglobin, women and babies would get benefit from iron treatment. Some studies suggest that the physiological decrease in hemoglobin is associated with improved outcomes for the baby. An adult woman has about 2,000 mg iron in the body, 60–70% of which is present in erythrocytes, with the rest stored in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. When a woman becomes pregnant, the demand for iron increases. Specifically, about 1,000 mg more is required, comprising 300 mg for the fetus and placenta, 500 mg for increased maternal hemoglobin, and 200 mg that compensates for excretion. Therefore, an additional 50% of the amount of iron present in the non-pregnant state should be ingested during pregnancy [17]. Iron Deficiency Anemia during Pregnancy Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common cause of nutritional anemia. Poor absorption of iron is aggravated by diet rich in phytates and phenolic compounds which prevent absorption of iron thereby resulting in anemic condition. Iron deficiency anemia is characterized by a defect in hemoglobin synthesis, resulting in red blood cells that are abnormally small (microcytic) and contain a decreased amount of hemoglobin (hypochromic) [18]. The capacity of the blood to deliver oxygen to body cells and tissues is thus reduced. Iron is essential to all cells. Functions of iron include involvement in energy metabolism, gene regulation, cell growth and differentiation, oxygen binding and transport, muscle oxygen use and storage, enzyme reactions, www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Citation: Satyam Prakash et al. Ijppr.Human, 2015; Vol. 4 (3): 164-179. 169 neurotransmitter synthesis, and protein synthesis [19]. Approximately 1190 mg of iron is required to sustain pregnancy from conception through delivery [20]. The iron requirement during pregnancy is increased gradually through gestation from 0.8 mg/day in the first trimester to 7.5 mg/day in the third trimester. The average requirement of iron in the entire gestation period is approximately. 4.4 mg/day [21, 22]. The required iron is used to expand the woman‟s erythrocyte mass, fulfill the fetus‟s iron requirements, compensate for iron losses (i.e. blood losses) at delivery. The newborns body iron content depends to a large extent on their birth weight. At a low birth weight of approx 2,500 g, the iron content of the newborn is approx 200 mg and at a “normal” birth weight of approx 3,500 g, the iron content is approx 270 mg [23]. Maternal iron deficiency in pregnancy increases the neonatal mortality and morbidity [24]. If the hemoglobin level is less than 8 grams/dl, then the risk of death during delivery increases 2-3 folds. Further, if the hemoglobin drops below 5 gm/dl, then the risk of death increases 8-10 folds [25]. The low maternal hemoglobin concentration is more likely to result in preterm delivery and thus low fetal birth weight [26]. . Classification of anemia in pregnancy Anemia is grossly classified into two types: (A) Pathological anemia in pregnancy. (B) Physiological anemia in pregnancy. (A) Pathological Anemia: It is further sub-classified into: 1. Deficiency Anemia: e. g. -Iron deficiency -Folic acid deficiency -B12 deficiency -Protein deficiency.