Anaemia affects mainly the women in child bearing age group, young children and adolescent girls. The present cross-sectional study was conducted to study the prevalence of anaemia and the socio-demographic factors associated with anaemia in pregnancy in a rural area. The study was conducted amongst the rural pregnant women reporting to the Rural Health Training Center (RHTC) of Hind Medical College Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 

A total of 100 pregnant women with gestational period between 12-20 weeks were registered for the study. The study variables included the blood hemoglobin level, age, education, religion, caste, income, type of family, gravida, birth interval, number of abortions and history of abnormal bleeding. A high prevalence (96.0 %) of Iron deficiency anaemia (Hb <11 gm/dl) was observed.  Majority of the anaemic women (56.25%) were in 20-24 years age group. The association of socio-demographic characteristics like type of family, education and socio-economic status with the anaemic status was not statistically significant. Thus, considering the high-risk status of anaemia in pregnancy, there is a need to initiate intervention measures at all levels of health care delivery.

Keywords: Pregnant Women; Anaemia; Rural Area.