Awareness and prevention of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: During pregnancy, the fetus requires iron for blood formation so does the mother, this increases the iron requirement which is higher than that of non-pregnant women. This study assessed the level of awareness and prevention of anemia among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Nigeria. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 182 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at LUTH in Lagos, Nigeria. A balloting system was done to select the respondents in the clinic that runs 4 times a week, with an estimated number of 70 pregnant women per clinic. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 22. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis, Chi-square test was done for the association between the variables at P < 0.05 level of significance. Ethical approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethical Committee of LUTH with approval number (ADM/DCST/HREC/APP/2589). Informed consent was taken and respondents were reassured of the privacy and confidentiality of the information obtained. Results: The highest percentage (33.3%) of the respondents was within the range of 26–30 years with a mean age of 28.18 ± 0.84 years. Majority of the women had a good level of awareness of anemia (68.89%) and good overall practices (73.89%) of prevention of anemia in pregnancy. There was no significant relationship between the respondents’ level of awareness of anemia and its prevention (χ2 = 1.533, P = 0.216). Conclusion: The study has shown that even though awareness and prevention practices were good, there is a need to create more awareness among pregnant women and also to give adequate health education on prevention of anemia to produce favorable outcome in pregnancy for both the child and mother.