ANAEMIA AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING THE ANTENATAL CLINIC AT SAVELUGU MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT

Background: Most developing countries still suffer from anaemia as a major public health concern. Anaemia results in maternal morbidity and mortality and also has significant influence on the development of the foetus. This study seeks to determine the prevalence and associated factors of anaemia among pregnant women obtaining antenatal care at the Savelugu Municipal Hospital.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2018. A total of 348 pregnant women who attended antenatal care (ANC) at the Savelugu Municipal Hospital were selected through simple random sampling. Data on socio-demographics, obstetric characteristics, medical intervention, malaria illness, and iron-containing foods of the participants were collected using a checklist and structured questionnaire. The data was entered and cleaned in MS Excel and then exported and analyzed using stata15.0. Data was analyzed descriptively and factors associated with anaemia were identified. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of anemia.

Results: Out of a total of 350 pregnant women who were enrolled for this study, 77.4% were aged beween 20 and 30, 74% were employed and 99.7% of them were married. 57.7% of them had a parity of 0 and 2, whilst 46.3% of them had gravidity of 3 – 4. About 96% of them were in their third trimester of pregnancy and (63.8%) made their first ANC visit outside the first trimester. About 73.4% of them reported taking malaria prophylaxis, 43.7% reported taking anti-helminths drugs whiles, 79.4% of them had malaria, 73.7% had previous anaemia, and 59.4% reported abdominal pains during pregnancy. About 66.3% of them were anemic, 55.7% of them had knowledge scores above the mean score. Parity (p=0.026), gravidity (p=0.010) and perception of anaemia deadliness (p=0.04) were significantly associated with anaemia status.

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Logistic regressions revealed that, the odds of being anaemic during pregnancy was higher among women with parity of greater than 4 (COR= 5.26; 95% CI 1.35-20.45; P=0.008) and gravidity of greater than 4 (COR= 2.39; 95%CI 1.26-4.56; P=0.007). Also, the odds of being anaemic during pregnancy was higher amongst women who perceived anaemia to be deadly (COR= 6.95; 95% CI 0.77-62.89; P=0.046).

Conclusion: Maternal knowledge of anaemia in pregnancy and intake of malaria prophylaxis was reportedly high, the prevalence of anaemia in Savelugu Municipality is still high and of public health concern.