Anaemia in Pregnant Women and Adolescent Girls Essay (Article)

Anaemia and its predisposing factors in pregnant women

1. The research on the prevalence of anaemia and its predisposing factors in pregnant women is very relevant in nursing as the findings are critical in determining the nature of prenatal care needed. Zhang, Li, and Ananth argue that, pregnant women are highly predisposed to anaemia because normally “during pregnancy there is increased utilization of iron in the body and increased plasma volume thus decreasing haemoglobin concentration in the body” (2009, p.283). Additional predisposing factors such as young maternal age, low body mass index, late prenatal care, poor education, diseases and deficiency of iron, vitamin A, B12, complicates the aetiology of anaemia in pregnant women. Therefore, the study of anaemia in pregnant women provides a basis of offering quality prenatal care in nursing.
2. Diagnosis of anaemia entails quantitative methods of diagnosis that measure haemoglobin concentration in the blood to determine the extent and severity of anaemia. In the study, Zhang, Li, and Ananth quantitatively classify haemoglobin concentration as follow: that “above 10g/dl as normal, between 10g/dl and 8g/dl as anaemic and below 8g/dl as severely anaemic” (2009, p. 284). Quantitative determination of the haemoglobin concentration in pregnant women without folic supplementation shows that about 32% developed anaemia during the pregnancy, while those who received folic acid supplementation had comparatively higher haemoglobin concentration across the trimesters. Hence, the quantitative research provided a robust data for statistical analysis that clearly showed prevalence and aetiology of anaemia among pregnant Chinese women.
3. Since iron deficiency not only causes anaemia, but also affects parental care, the purpose of the research was to establish whether supplementation of iron and vitamin A could effectively help in preventing anaemia and improving prenatal care. The research further wanted to ascertain whether iron supplementation would significantly reduce the prevalence of the anaemia among Chinese women. The purpose of the research conforms to the evidence-based practice of health research because it complies with the standards such as aetiology, treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention of harm. On aetiology, research purpose reaffirms that the cause of anaemia is the deficiency of iron and vitamin A during pregnancy and that predisposing factors such as poor nutrition and inaccessible prenatal care contribute significantly to high prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women.
4. Clinical implications of the research is that pregnant women in developing countries are very susceptible to anaemia because of dominant predisposing factors such as low education, poor nutrition, young maternal age and inaccessible prenatal care. Specifically, the research findings are very relevant to pregnant women who are in abject conditions of poverty and do not have adequate nutrition. The research ultimately concludes that anaemia and low levels of haemoglobin affects parental care and that supplementation of iron effectively alleviates the condition.

Aetiology of anaemia in adolescent girls

1. Aetiology of anaemia in adolescent girls is an area of priority for nursing research because the prevalence of anaemia in developing countries is significantly high as compared to the developed countries. Moreover, the study has shown that anaemia affects many adolescent girls and thus interferes with their educational performance at school. Presence of predisposing factors such as poor nutrition, inaccessible health care, malaria, low body mass index and poor education in developing countries contributes greatly to high prevalence rates of anaemia. Thus, for World Health Organization to help improve health status of the adolescent girls in developing countries, it should consider aetiology of anaemia as an area that needs priority in nursing research.
2. The research on the prevalence and risks factors associated with anaemia is a quantitative because it involves measuring of haemoglobin concentration and supplementation of iron and vitamin A in adolescent girls for a period of five months. Polit and Beck argue that, “qualitative research begin with a phenomena that has been previously studied or defined and identification typically precedes the inquiry” (2010, p.21). Thus, this research is a prospective study that focuses on the aetiology of anaemia by monitoring haemoglobin concentration with the objective of analysing the prevalence and predisposing factors of anaemia among adolescent girls.
3. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of iron and vitamin A supplementation on the haemoglobin concentration and susceptibility to malaria amongst adolescents. According to Leenstra, Kariuki, Kurtis, Oloo, Kager, and Ter, iron deficiency is the main cause of anaemia among adolescent girls because during adolescence, “there is increased use of iron and vitamin A due to rapid growth and blood loss through menstruation” (2009, p. 173). Moreover, other predisposing factors in developing countries such as poor nutrition and malaria increase the prevalence of anaemia in adolescent girls. The study complied with the evidence-based practice in terms of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of anaemia by conducting a research to determine the effect of supplementation of iron and vitamin A on the haemoglobin concentration. The adolescent girls received iron and vitamin A supplementation for a period of five months while monitoring the levels of haemoglobin in the blood. However, in preventing harm, the study cautions that, although supplementation of iron help in preventing anaemia and improving educational performance of the adolescent girls, it may increase susceptibility to malaria.
4. The clinical implications of this research include prevalence of anaemia among adolescent girls due to rapid growth and onset of menstruation can effectively be prevented by supplementation of iron without any significant side effects. According to Leenstra et al., the supplementation of iron increases haemoglobin concentration thus prevents anaemia and increase immune response against malaria (2009, p.174). These findings rule out earlier findings that supplementation of iron increases susceptibility of infections such as malaria.

References

Leenstra, T. et al. (2009).The effect of Weekly iron and vitamin A Supplementation on Haemoglobin Levels and Iron Status in Adolescent Schoolgirls in Western Kenya. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63(6), 173–182.

Polit, F., & Beck, C. (2010). Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Research (7th Ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott.

Zhang, Q., Li, Z., & Ananth, C. (2009). Prevalence and Risk Factors for Anaemia in Pregnant Women: a Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study in China. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 23, 282–291.