Prevalence of Anaemia in pregnancy and its associated factors in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy affects over half of the pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries. It poses specific risks to both mother  and foetus. This study set out to assess the prevalence of anaemia and its prevailing risk factors among pregnant women in rural and urban areas of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data. Descriptive  statistics were presented in tables and figures. A haemoglobin level less than 11g/dl was classified as anaemia. Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact were  performed to examine the relationship between categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at a p value of 0.05.

Results: An equal number of urban and rural respondents (90) participated in this study. The average haemoglobin level was 10.80±1.25g/dl and  10.35±1.79g/dl for urban and rural respondents respectively. Majority of the respondents were anaemic (61.1%), with 49.1 of these having mild anaemia  and 50.9% having moderate anaemia. The average daily dietary intake of iron was 17.7mg (6.1-37.8mg), and there was no significant difference between  the iron intake of urban and rural respondents. Among the sociodemographic, obstetric and dietary factors evaluated, only pregnancy trimester was significantly associated with anaemia in pregnancy among urban respondents.

Conclusion: This study found alarmingly high prevalence of anaemia. This calls for promotion and implementation of proper nutrition education in  pregnancy. These findings also support the need to strengthen policies on implementation of the continuous administration of iron and folic acid  supplements as a routine ANC drug in health facilities.