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anaemia [8J . Of the 391 cases admit.ted with s ev e r e pcsnparuue
haemorrhage, 6 . n died and the others su rv i ve d probably with
seve r e anaemia [ 8) .
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Many other studies on anaemia in lactating mot hers in
Africa , have reported prevalence rates r anging from ] 0 to 99\ ,
further emphasis ing the higher occurrence rates o f pos t partum
anaem i a in t hese regions [146}. After pregnancy the anaase l c
new mother in these countries is still faced with the e xtr a
dema nd s of l a c t a t i o n , at a time when her reserves a re at their
lowest . I t should a lso be remembered that breast-feeding i s
done a l mos t universally i n the develplng world, for longer
periods and r epeatedly as fertility ra tes are h ig h , a nd
therefore the d ep leti ng effects of lactat i on on ea t erna I
resources can be quite marked in these pop ulations .
Anaelllia i n the puerperal pe r ic:xt is associat e d with a n
i nc r ea s e d risk of puerperal i n f e c t ive ccepj I cetIcns (7,8,)0 l
which could i n t urn a l s o aggravate the an aem i a . t n Za ria, for
i ns t a nc e, ma ny of the puerperal an aemi a pa t ient s seen als o
presented with infec tive cond i t i o ns {8 l . Controll ing puerpera l
anaemia can, therefore, contribute significantly to reduc ing
morbidi ty a nd mortality from puerperal seps is i n thes e
commun i t i e s .
A study of the nutritional rect.oz-e i n 100 puerperal
anaemic SUbjects ....ith haemoglobin level s less than 10 gm/dl in
Johannesbu rg , South Af rica , found gOt o r them to be iron