Abstract:
Background: Anemia is a medical condition characterized by a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood, which results in reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. In Ethiopia, anemia among pregnant women is 62.7%. There were no data in the study area that identified the determinants of anemia.
Objective: The aim of this study is to identify determinants of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in public health centers of Burayu Sub-City, Sheger City, 2024.
Method: Institution based unmatched case control study was conducted among 306 pregnant women (cases 102 and control 204) attending antenatal care service in Burayu sub-city health centers from April 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024. The study participants were selected from each health centers by using systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using structured pre-tested questionnaires and secondary data used for Hemoglobin level determination, hemo-parasite diagnosis and stool examination from health centers. Cleaned data and coded data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Frequency percentage were computed to summarize the data and presented by tables. The collected data were analyzed using bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify the determinants of anemia, (<Assumption of the binary logistic regression model including multi-collinearity assessed by variance inflation factor (VIF) and model fitness assessed by the Hosmer and Lemeshow test were checked. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value (P<0.05) used to identify the significant association,
Results: A total of 306 pregnant women were enrolled in this study. Pregnant women with no formal education (AOR: 3.07; 95% CI: 2.21, 9.05), a history of bleeding (AOR: 6.81; 95% CI: 1.70, 27.26), fewer ANC visits (AOR: 4.52; 95% CI: 3.77, 5.99), shorter birth intervals (AOR: 24.89; 95% CI: 5.45, 113.59), and lower maternal MUAC (AOR: 4.87; 95% CI: 1.43, 16.54) were found to be significantly associated with anemia.
Conclusions: Anemia among pregnant women estimates approximately 38% globally, with various determinants influencing its. The study indicated that education level, presence of bleeding history, iron supplementation, nutrition education, and number of ANC visits, birth interval, and maternal MUAC were significantly association with anemia during pregnancy. Therefore, Increase community awareness, provide routine anemia screening during prenatal visits to, administer iron supplements, provides nutritional education, encourage at least four ANC visits, promote optimal birth interval and use MUAC as simple screening tool for nutritional assessing are a vital to prevent anemia during pregnancy.
