Maternal Anemia: A Preventable Killer

See Also: Emergency Nutrition; Women and Adolescent Nutrition

Recent meta-analysis showed that Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) is associated with 22% of maternal deaths and 24% of neonatal deaths. The analysis also showed that correcting anemia of any severity reduced the risk of death. This is a new finding and different from the earlier view that only severe anemia is associated with increased mortality. The new brief, "Maternal Anemia: A Preventable Killer," details the causes and consequences of iron deficiency, IDA and anemia, and emphasizes the importance of implementing a package of interventions to address multiple causes of anemia. The brief is a product of a collaboration among USAID's A2Z Micronutrient and Child Blindness Project, ACCESS Program, and Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) Project.

Maternal Anemia: A Preventable Killer [191 kb]