Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnant women is common, and iron supplementation is given during pregnancy to reduce birth complication. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of anemia and type of anemia after iron supplementation among pregnant women in the eastern part of Indonesia. Methods A cross-sectional study design was conducted between January and March 2019 in three Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities at Kupang, West Timor. After consent, pregnant women who had taken their iron supplementation for at least 3 months were asked for iron pills intake by using a self-designed questionnaire and by counting the pills leftover. Complete blood count examination was performed, and the type of anemia was assessed using Shine and Lal index (SLI; MCV ∗ MCV ∗ MCH/100) to determine whether anemia was due to iron deficiency or β-thalassemia trait (β-TT). In a subset of iron tablets distributed in the PHCs, Fe-concentration was measured. Results Of 102 pregnant women included, only 25.5% had taken the pills with a pill count of >80%. Interestingly, Fe-concentration in the pills from three different PHC facilities varied between 75% and 100%. After iron supplementation, however, anemia was detected in 34.3%, and based on SLI, 14.7% was suspected because of iron deficiency and 19.6% was suspective of β-TT. Of note, nonanemic pregnant women (17.6%) had also low SLI, suggesting β-TT or other hemoglobinopathies. Conclusion Assessment of Shine and Lal index as the first step to screen the type of anemia in pregnant women from a limited area is of potential value, especially because Indonesia is located in the thalassemia belt area. An integrative approach and counseling among pregnant women with β-TT and their partners will increase thalassemia awareness and optimal birth management.

Thalassemia major becomes the fifth catastrophic disease in Indonesia, however, national wide screening program is not mandatory. This study aimed to re-assess the validity of the various erythrocyte indices in determining ?-thalalssemia carrier among pregnant women in a low resource setting area. An analytic study was performed, comparing conventional cut-off various erythrocyte indices with new modified cut-offs by Kumar et al. The concordance analysis was calculated with Mentzer Index (MI) as reference. The validity of erythrocyte indices against hemoglobin (Hb) A2 were analysed, confirmed by molecular examination for ?- and common ?-Globin South East Asia population. Of 102 pregnant women, 34% was still anemic after completion of 90 iron pills. The concordance of conventional cut-off Shine & Lal index (<1530) was none to slight in agreement (kappa 0.097) to conventional cut-off MI (<13). The concordance of SLI increased significantly to substantial agreement when both used modified cut-offs (kappa 0.729). However, both SLI and MI had missed most of HbE carriers and ?-thalassemia carriers which seemed to be prevalent in this population as shown by DNA examination. In contrary, simple MCV<80fl and MCH<27pg had covered those carriers. This is the first study from Nusa Tenggara Timur, a low resource area in Indonesia in attempt to mass screen thalassemia carriers in this area where a simple MCV<80 fL and MCH<27pg have been used for preliminary screening rather than other indices. Since the population in eastern part of Indonesia has different genetic background compared to the west, DNA analysis is of great interest to map the spectrum of globin mutations.