LUCKNOW: Strengthening efforts to cut preventable maternal and newborn deaths, the Uttar Pradesh health department has rolled out one-shot iron injections to tackle anaemia among pregnant women.Mission director, National Health Mission (NHM), UP, Pinky Jowel said the decision followed a successful pilot across five districts—Sitapur, Hardoi, Rae Bareli, Jalaun and Bahraich. The intervention is aimed at women who find it difficult to take iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets regularly due to side effects or adherence challenges, and those who require quicker improvement in haemoglobin levels during pregnancy.“The one-shot injection is called Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM) and allows greater compliance of medicine. More than 20,000 doses of the injection were administered in the pilot,” Jowel said on Friday.Health officials said FCM can reduce repeated visits to health facilities compared with Iron Sucrose, which often requires multiple sessions to complete a dose course. By delivering treatment in a single sitting, the injection is expected to ease access for women in rural and hard-to-reach areas and improve continuity of care.Buoyed by the response to the pilot, the department has placed the injection on the state’s essential medicines list. Officials said the step would help streamline procurement and ensure availability at public health facilities, alongside training of doctors and staff nurses and awareness-building among beneficiaries.Anaemia is a significant factor in maternal mortality that weakens cardiac reserve and erodes immunity. This leaves little strength in women to tolerate blood loss during childbirth, suggests The Missing Evidence: anaemia, postpartum bleeding and maternal death Report brought out by Anaemia Action Alliance formed by WHO and UNICEF.Diet and Biomarkers Survey in India (DABS-I) by ICMR–National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) estimates anaemia prevalence among adolescent girls and adult women at 39% to 42%.As per Union health ministry’s Anaemia Mukt Bharat operational framework and findings from clinical maternal death audits, anaemia is a direct or indirect contributor to an estimated 40% to 50% of maternal deaths. In Uttar Pradesh, Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) records classify severe anaemia as the direct cause in roughly 7% to 19% of cases.Hospital reviews have also indicated that more than half of women who died had haemoglobin levels below seven units on admission.
