Assessment of Prevalence and Risk Factors for Anemia Among Pregnant Mothers Attending Anc Clinic at Adama Hospital Medical Collage, Adama, Ethiopia, 2017

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a significant public health problem in developing countries, particularly in pregnant women. It refers to a condition in which the hemoglobin content of the blood is lower than normal. In developing countries, the cause of anemia during pregnancy is multifactorial and includes nutritional deficiencies. It is associated with an increased risk of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. In order to design an intervention for prevention of anemia in pregnancy, determination of its magnitude and identifying associated risk factors for anemia are paramount importance. Objectives: To determine the magnitude and factors associated with anemia during pregnancy among mothers attending antenatal care at Adama Hospital Medical College antenatal care clinic from November to December 2017. Methods: Institution based cross sectional study design was used in Adama Hospital Medical College from November to December 2017. The study participants were selected using systematic sampling technique from their sequence of antenatal care visit in the period of study, and associated risk factors data were collected using structured questionnaire by trained antenatal care service providers. Level of haemoglobin was determined. Descriptive and analytical statistics were computed using SPSS version 20. Odds Ratios, P-values and 95% CIs - the analytical statistics from bivariate and multi variate logstic regression were used to identify predictor variables associated with the dependent variable - anaemia. Result: A total of 329 participants completed the study making the response rate of 97.0%. The mean age of the participants was (26.5 ± 4.03). The prevalence of anaemia was found to be 14.9%. Pregnant women who had pica during pregnancy had 33.6(13.92 -81.48) times more likely to be anemic compared with those had no history of pica. Pregnant women who didn’t take iron supplementation during their pregnancy were 0.196(.085-.445) times more likely to be affected by anemia when they compared with those who took iron supplementation. Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia was found to be 14.9%. Iron supplementation during pregnancy and presence of pica were significantly associated with anaemia in the study population. Therefore, long term and short term strategies helpful in alleviating these predisposing factors need to be developed so as to reduce the number of mothers affected by anaemia.