PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF ANAEMIA IN PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN JOS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Anaemia in pregnancy is a common problem in the developing countries. It is a major cause of
morbidity and mortality, with 20% of maternal deaths in Africa being attributable to this
problem.
This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and the determinants of anaemia among
pregnant women who presented to book for antenatal care at the Fillin Ball PHC in Jos North
LGA of Plateau State. The women were enrolled during their booking clinic. Most of them
presented after the first trimester of their index pregnancy, with more women booking during
the third trimester than in the first. During the booking clinic, socio-demographic data, past
medical history and history of the index pregnancy were collected using a questionnaire.
Samples of venous blood, urine and stool were collected from the women. The venous blood
was tested for RBC indices, serum ferritin, and the presence of malaria parasite. Urine sample
was tested for urinary tract infection and the stool sample was tested for intestinal parasites.
The women also received a routine physical examination and findings were recorded.
One hundred and nineteen (46.7%) of the subjects were found to be anaemic with most (59.7%)
having mild anaemia. The prevalence of iron deficiency was very high (65.1%) in the study
subjects. There was a high prevalence of malaria (40.4%) among the study subjects and 41.2%
of them had a UTI based on urine culture findings. The prevalence of HIV infection and
intestinal parasitic infections were low, 2.0% and 9.0% respectively. All the infections -
malaria, UTI, HIV infection and intestinal helminths were observed to be not significantly
associated with anaemia in pregnancy. There was no significant association between anaemia
and level of education or socio-economic class. However, anaemia was found to be
significantly associated with parity, birth interval, trimester of pregnancy at booking and iron
deficiency. The strongest determinant of anaemia in pregnancy in the study subjects was iron
deficiency.
Educating women on the benefits of early commencement of antenatal care will help reduce
the prevalence and severity of anaemia in pregnancy. Education should include family
planning, dietary advice, prevention of infections and improved personal and environmental
hygiene.

PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF ANAEMIA IN PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN JOS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.