Magnitude of anemia and associated risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Shalla Woreda, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND
Anemia during pregnancy is a common problem in developing countries and affects both the mother's and her child's health. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and the factors associated with anemia among pregnant women.


METHODS
Facility based cross-sectional study design was conducted from June to August, 2011 on 374 pregnant women. Mothers who came for ANC during the study period and who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed and a capillary blood sample was taken. Hemoglobin level was determined by using HemoCue photometer, and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were cleaned, coded and fed into SPSS version 16.0 for analysis.


RESULTS
The mean hemoglobin concentration was 12.05±1.5 g/dl and prevalence of anemia was 36.6%. Family sizes (COR=2.67, CI (1.65, 4.32), third trimester (COR=1.45, CI (1.11, 2.23), meat consumption <1x/wk (COR=3.47, CI (1.58, 7.64) and pica (COR=2.33, CI (1.52, 3.58) were significantly associated with anemia. Having five or more children (AOR=5.2, CI [1.29, 21.09]), intake of vegetables and fruits less than once per day (AOR= 6.7, CI [2.49, 17.89]), intake of tea always after meal (AOR = 12.83.CI [45-28.9]), and recurrence of illness during pregnancy (AOR=7.3, CI [2.12-25.39]) were factors associated with anemia.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that anemia is a moderate public health problem. Less frequent meat and vegetable consumption, parity ≥5 are risk factors for anemia. Therefore, reducing parity, taking balanced diet and use of mosquito nets during pregnancy are recommended.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Niguse
N
Obse
Andualem
A
Mossie
Teshome
T
Gobena
D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010298:Parity; D010842:Pica; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013662:Tea; D055815:Young Adult
D006454:Hemoglobins; D013662:Tea
ANC; Anemia; Hemoglobin; Pregnancy