Does anemic condition of women effect pregnancy complications: Evidence from North-Eastern states of India

Mousumi Gogoi, International Institute For Population Sciences (IIPS)

Present study attempts to understand the effect of anemia on pregnancy complications and outcomes among married women of North-Eastern states of India, using third round of National Family Health Survey data, conducted during 2005-06. North-eastern states are selected based on higher prevalence of anemia than other regions of India. Pregnancy complications namely-swelling of body parts, excessive fatigue, convulsions and vaginal bleeding and pregnancy outcomes like-preterm birth and abortion is used as dependent variable. Bivariate analysis used to understand differentials in outcome variables among anemic and non-anemic women, multivariate analysis is used to understand the significant association between outcome variables and anemic conditions. Results indicate that anemic women are at greater risk of pregnancy complications and outcomes in North-Eastern states of India. Multivariate analysis reveals that non-anemic women are at lower risks of complications of swelling of body parts (0.82, <0.10), excessive fatigue (0.79, <0.05), and of preterm birth (0.69, <0.05).