Abstract
BackgroundAnaemia during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. The WHO recommends that all pregnant women in areas where anaemia is prevalent receive supplements of iron and folic acid. However, due to many factors, the use of iron and folic acid supplementation is still low in many countries. This study was conducted to assess the rates of iron-folic supplementation and the associated factors during pregnancy and the effects of taking iron-folic acid supplementation on rates of maternal anaemia and low birth weight (LBW) infants.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at Khartoum Hospital, Sudan. Enrolled women answered a questionnaire on socio-demographics characteristics, their pregnancy and delivery.ResultsOf 856 women, 788 (92.1%) used iron-folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and 65.4% used folic acid. While place of residence, occupation and level of education were not associated with iron-folic acid usage, older age (OR = 3, CI = 1.4–6.3) and use of antenatal care (OR = 14.3, CI = 7.4–27.5) were associated with iron-folic acid use. Primiparity (OR = 3.8, CI = 1.9–7.6), maternal employment (OR = 3.9, CI = 2.25–6.77) and use of antenatal care (OR = 7.9, CI = 4.1–15) were the factors associated with folic acid. Using iron-folic acid was protective against anaemia (OR = 0.39, CI = 0.2–0.7) and LBW infants (OR = 0.3, CI = 0.17–0.68).ConclusionThere was a high rate of iron-folic acid supplementation use among pregnant women in Khartoum, Sudan, which was beneficial in preventing anaemia in expectant mothers and infants of LBW.
Highlights
Anaemia during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all pregnant women in areas where anaemia is prevalent should receive supplements of iron and folic acid [5]
A significantly higher number of women who used ironfolic acid were educated, were resident in a town and had attended antenatal care, Table 1. Of these 856 women who delivered in the hospital, 791 (92.4%) attended antenatal care and 65 (7.6%) did not attend antenatal care
Summary
Anaemia during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. The WHO recommends that all pregnant women in areas where anaemia is prevalent receive supplements of iron and folic acid. In spite of the WHO recommendation, the use of iron and folic acid supplementation is still low in many countries, especially in countries with low resources [9,10]. Various factors, such as socio-demographics and health factors, determine the compliance and adherence of pregnant women to the iron and folic acid supplementation [11,12,13,14,15,16]. Anaemia during pregnancy is a major health problem in Sudan affecting around half of women in some areas; it is a risk factor for maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality [3,8]. Such studies are needed to generate data for health planners and program managers
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