The Prevalence And Determinants Of Anaemia Among Pregnant Women In Hohoe

Abstract Introduction Anaemia is one of the most common health conditions which can affect anyone especially women of reproductive age and children. Pregnant women are at an even higher risk due to the physiological demands of the foetus. Anaemia affects over 800 million women and children and 38.2% of pregnant women worldwide. In Ghana 42% of women of reproductive age have anaemia. The situation is worse in the Volta Region where 46.5% are anaemic. Methods This research was done at Hohoe among pregnant women and lactating mothers to determine the prevalence of anaemia in the target group. The research was a cross-sectional study based in the Hohoe Municipal Hospital. The study participants were selected using systematic random sampling with the ANC/PNC attendance register as the sampling frame. Interviews were done and questionnaires administered to study participants. Also, health records, including the Hb level history, attendance at ANC, recent history of malaria or worm infestation and demographic characteristics, were taken from the maternal records book of respondents. In all, 407 pregnant women were part of the study. STATA version 15 was used for the data analysis. Microsoft Excel 2016 was also used to draw charts and tables. Pearson’s chi-square tests and Fischer’s exact tests were used to find associations. Logistic regressions were also used to find if these associations exist when adjusting for other variables. Results: The prevalence of anaemia among the participants was found to be 32.7% (anaemia on first ANC visit) of which there were 48.1% moderate cases and 51.9% mild cases of anaemia. 51.4% of the respondents had high knowledge on anaemia, 38.6% had fair knowledge and 11.0% had low knowledge. The level of a pregnant woman’s formal education, the number of times a pregnant woman deworms, the trimester in which a pregnant woman visits the ANC and the parity were the factors that were found to be significant determinants of the anaemia status of the study participants. Conclusion and recommendations: Anaemia is still an issue of public health concern among the study population. CHNs doing more community sensitization and education during home visits on topics like early attendance to ANC when pregnant can go a long way to help reduce the burden of anaemia. Also, midwives should ensure that pregnant women are given the adequate dosage of anthelmintic during the period of their pregnancy. Since education was found to be a strong determinant, it will be prudent for the CHNs to include the need for educating the girl-child as part of their educational activities. Also, the ministry of education should ensure all girls have at least basic level of education