Anemia status and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care in a health facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Anemia remains a major maternal and infant health problem particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Contemporary understanding of the magnitude of anemia and related socio-demographic variables in a specific setting would help scale-up preventive and therapeutic measures in a locality. This study was, therefore, aimed at estimating anemia prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Selam Health Center in northwest Addis Ababa. The study was undertaken between December 2015 and February 2016. The sample size was calculated using the general formula for single population proportion sampling. A questionnaire or face-to-face interview and medical records were used to gather pertinent data on socio-demography, clinical history, and maternal characteristics of the participants. Venous blood was drawn to measure hemoglobin (Hb) using BC-3000Plus Auto Hematology Analyzer and define anemia (Hb<11.0g/dl). The overall prevalence of anemia was 16.3% (n=480). The majority of the participants (52.0%) had mild anemia (Hb=10.0-10.9g/dl). Significant predictors of anemia were being positive for hiv (odds ratio (OR) 3.67, 95% confidence interval (ci)=1.70-7.90, p=0.001, intestinal parasitic infection positive (OR 3.46, 95% CI 1.67-7.20, p=0.001), and having lower inter-pregnancy gap (or 7.312, 95% ci 3.041-17.587, p=0.001). Although anemia prevalence was lower than reports from some other parts of Ethiopia, the figure is sizeable and in need of attention.