Prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia three months after delivery in the Iranian women

Anemia is considered to be one of the major public health problems, due to its effects on quality of life. Women at reproductive ages are among the risk groups who develop this condition. In postpartum, in opposite to the pregnancy, women have the lowest risk for iron deficiency. However, the observed prevalence of anemia in postpartum is higher than expected. Determining the prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency and postpartum iron deficiency anemia can help identifying the public health situation and adequacy of health care services. In this cross-sectional study, 207 women (Semnan, Iran) within 90 ± 20 days of postpartum were assessed. The hemoglobin (Hb< 12 gr/dl) indicated as anemia and serum ferritin (< 20 µg/l) as iron deficiency, while both of the two markers combined with other hematology indices such as MCHC<31%, MCH < 27, MCV < 80 were defined as iron deficiency anemia. Three months after delivery, the prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia were 6.3%, 8.2 % and 1.0 %, respectively. The prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency anemia had no significant relationship with age, type and frequency of deliveries and status of iron supplementation. However, there was a significant relationship between prevalence of iron deficiency and iron supplement reception (OR = 5.0, 95% CI: 1.1-23.5, P= 0.040), in the way that women who were not consuming iron pills were 5 times more at risk of developing iron deficiency in compare to those who were receiving them regularly. The results showed that the prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, 3 months after delivery are all in normal range in Semnan. Regarding the fact that lack of iron supplementation will increase the risk of iron deficiency, it is necessary to raise the community awareness about receiving iron supplements after delivery at the hospital and during regular follow ups at the health care centers.