Prevalence of Anemia and Risk Factors Among Pregnant Mothers Attending Antenatal Care at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, South-West Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Anemia is one of the most frequently observed nutritional deficiency diseases in the world today .It is especially prevalent  in the women of reproductive age , particularly during pregnancy when it is contributing for maternal death. The diagnosis is made by clinical examination and investigation for hemoglobin or Hematocrite level .Depending on the hemoglobin level, anemia categorized as moderate and severe which is important for management. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and associated risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic at Jimma University Specialized Hospital from February to June, 2018 Methods: institutional based cross-sectional study was employed to assess the presence of anemia in all pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic of Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Finally collected data was analyzed by using SPSS. Depending on the clinical manifestation, assessing associated factors, laboratory determination of hemoglobin level and stool examination, the result were summarized by using tables and chi-square.  Results: A total of  207 mothers were  seen during the study period with 100% response rate Among the study population65(31.4%) had anemia with a mean hemoglobin level of 11.4gm/dl and 9.6gm/dl for   the total and anemic mothers  respectively  Regarding  age 105(50.7%) of the  study population were in the age group of 18-25 ,88(42.5%) were in the age group of 26-35 and 7(3.4%) of the study population were in the age group of <18 year and >35 years. 124 (59.9%) of the study population were  living in  urban,40.6% of the of the study population  had  attended secondary school and above. Anemia had a significant association (P<0.05) with hook worm infestation, chronic illness, parity and age of pregnant mothers. Conclusion: the result of this study showed that the occurrence of anemia in pregnancy has been present in large population of pregnant women. The rate of anemia being higher among grand multiparas, in third trimester of pregnancy and age more than 35 years and in mothers  who had chronic illnesses. Key words: Anemia, pregnant, ANC, JUSH

DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/65-04

Publication date: August 31^st 2019