The Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Clinic at ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract

Abstract Background: Anaemia is a condition when there are not enough red blood cells to meet the body's physiologic needs, which affects their ability to carry oxygen. Women who are expecting are among the most vulnerable demographics. Anemia is present in roughly 36.5% of pregnant women. Pregnant women are encouraged to take iron-folate supplements, eat foods high in iron, and avoid intestinal worms in order to prevent anaemia. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at ALERT hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A Hospital based descriptive cross sectional study on the sample of pregnant women was conducted using constructed questionnaire to explore prevalence of anemia and associated risk factors from July 4, 2022 - August 4, 2022 GC. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 174 pregnant women. The data was collected by trained two Nursing professionals being under supervision by the principal investigator. Then, it was cleaned, entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26.0 statistical software and MS excel. Results: One hundred and thirty one (75.3%) of the pregnant women were less than 30 years of age with the mean age being 27.06 + 5.049 years. 156 (89.7%) were third trimester pregnant women, 121 (69.5%) were multigravid. 164 (94.3%) had taken Iron-folic acid supplement tablets, 1o9 (66.5%) had good adherence and 145 (83.3%) had good knowledge on iron-folic acid tablets supplements. The prevalence of anemia was 6.9% while 75% (9 out of 12) were mildly anemic and 25% (3 out of 12) were moderately anemic. Less frequent consumption habit of meat and animal products was associated with anemia in pregnancy Conclusion and Recommendations: The majority of them were at third trimester of their pregnancy and multigravid. The majority had taken IFAS and most had good adherence and knowledge to IFAS. Frequent feeding habits of meat and animal products during pregnancy is recommended.