Awareness and prevention of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria
Date
2020
Authors
Ademuyiwa, IY
Ayamolowo, SJ
Oginni, MO
Akinbode, MO
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Scholar
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.
Description
Keywords
Awareness, Prevention of malaria, Pregnancy, Pregnant women, Antenatal care
Citation
Ademuyiwa IY, Ayamolowo SJ, Oginni MO, Akinbode MO. Awareness and Prevention of Anemia among Pregnant Women attending Antenatal Clinic at a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Calabar J Health Sci 2020;4(1):20-6.