Beyond Pills: How IV Iron Is Reshaping India’s Fight Against Maternal Anaemia

Anaemia has long been described as India’s silent epidemic—widespread, persistent and devastating in its consequences, yet rarely commanding sustained public attention.

- TDG NETWORK

For decades, it has quietly undermined maternal health, shaping pregnancy outcomes and infant survival well before a child is born.

Despite years of government programmes and iron supplementation schemes, nearly one in two Indian women of reproductive age remains anaemic, according to national health surveys. Among pregnant women, the risks are even more severe. Anaemia significantly raises the chances of preterm birth, low birth weight, maternal fatigue, infections and postpartum haemorrhage, one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the country.

Now, after decades of relying almost exclusively on oral iron tablets, India’s public health system is beginning to shift gears. Several states are increasingly adopting single-dose intravenous (IV) iron infusions as a frontline treatment for moderate to severe anaemia during pregnancy, particularly when oral therapy fails or time is critically short. Public health experts say this change could address one of the most stubborn weaknesses in India’s anaemia control strategy: poor compliance.