Prevalence of Anemia Among Women Receiving Antenatal Care at Boditii Health Center, Southern Ethiopia

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  • Dereje Lelissa, Matiyas Yilma, Weldesenbet Shewalem, Mesfin Worku, Henock Ambachew, Misganaw Birhaneselassie
Background: Anemia is regarded as a major risk factor for unfavorable outcome of pregnancy both for the mother and the fetus. Methodology: A heath center based cross-sectional study was conducted in Boditii Health Centers from April 12 to June 23, 2012. Data was collected using pretested questionnaire, which contains socioeconomic, demographic and clinical characteristics of pregnant women shown to have association with anemia. A total of 125 pregnant women were enrolled in this study. HGB was measured using the Sahli-Hellinge method of HGB determination. Data was entered and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16, software. Association between variables was done using chi square, and statistical significance was considered at P value < 0.05. Result: The prevalence of anemia obtained in this study was 77/125 (61.6%), based on the WHO criterion for the diagnosis of anemia in pregnancy, i.e. hemoglobin <11.0 g/dl (PCV <33%). In terms of severity, mild anemia was present in 41(53.2%) of women, moderate anemia was present in 36 (46.8%), and there were no cases of severe anemia. The prevalence of anemia in this study was 58.4% and 41.5% for primigravida and multigravida, respectively (P<0.05). Anemia was also found to increase as the gestational age increases, showing the highest prevalence in the third trimester (46.7%) than second (45.4%) and first trimester (7.8%), (P<0.001). Conclusion and Recommendation: From our results, we can conclude that anemia in pregnant women was highly prevalent in Boditti town. Our study revealed that the prevalence of anemia is higher in primigravidea than multigravidea. Anemia also increased as the gestational age increases. Intervention including health education about causes of anemia and its risk factors and antenatal care (ANC) follow up should be improved.
Original languageEnglish
Article number3
JournalClinical Medicine Research
Volume4
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)79
Number of pages86
ISSN2326-9057
Publication statusPublished - 6 May 2015
Externally publishedYes

ID: 162169300