Half of pregnant women suffer from anaemia due to iron deficiency

Nearly half of pregnant women in Bangladesh suffer from anaemia due to iron deficiency, leading to complications during pregnancy and childbirths.

Besides, anaemia also puts women at increased risk of maternal mortality, also raising the risk of a pre-term delivery, low birth weight baby, disadvantaging the child right from the start.

And intake of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets can help reduce both iron deficiency and the chances of such complications during pregnancy.

These were disclosed Thursday at a workshop titled `Strengthening Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Program to reduce anaemia among pregnant women', which was held at a city hotel, said a press release.

Senior government officials including Ms Roxana Quader, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Shah Newaz, Additional Director General, Directorate General of Health Services, John McCullough, Micronutrient Initiative Regional Director, Asia and Heather McBride, Deputy Director Planning and Lead Analyst, High Commission of Canada. Dr Deepika Nayar Chaudhery, Micronutrient Initiative Deputy Regional Director, Asia and Dr S M Mustafizur Rahman, Director, Micronutrient Initiative, Bangladesh, among others, participated in the workshop.