Background: Anaemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency diseases observed globally\nand affects more than a quarter of the world�s population. Globally, 41.8% pregnant women and\nclose to one third of non-pregnant women (30.2%) are anaemic. Anaemia during pregnancy contributes\nto 20% of all maternal deaths and it increases the risks of foetal, neonatal and overall infant\nmortality. In Kenya, according to the Ministry of Health, the prevalence of anaemia among\npregnant women is 55.1%. Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of\nanaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital\n(PMH). Methodology: A hospital based cross-sectional study design was conducted from 8th June to\n18th August, 2015. Systematic random sampling method was used to select 258 pregnant women.\nMothers who attended ANC during the study period and who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed\nand a capillary blood sample was taken. Hemoglobin level was determined by using HemoCue\nphotometer. Data were cleaned, coded and fed into SPSS Version 20.0 for analysis. Descriptive\nstatistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to describe\nselected variables. Pearson�s chi-square test and odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence\nintervals (CI) computed to find association between independent and dependent variables.\nMultivariate analysis was done to determine factors significantly and independently predicting anaemia during pregnancy. Results: The present study revealed that the prevalence of anaemia\namong the pregnant women was 57%. Advanced maternal age (>31 years) (AOR = 2.71; 95% CI =\n1.25 - 5.88; P = 0.012) more than 18 - 24 years, government/private employed women (AOR = 2.94;\n95% CI = 1.47 - 5.88; P = 0.002) and self-employed women (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.03 - 3.53; P =\n0.039) compared to housewives, not taking iron/folic acid supplementation (IFAS) (AOR = 2.04;\n95% CI = 1.14 - 3.64; P = 0.016) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 23 cm (AOR =\n2.52; 95% CI = 1.36 - 4.67; P = 0.003) were found to be predictors of anaemia. Conclusion: Anaemia\namong pregnant women is found to be severe public health problem based on the World Health\nOrganization classification of anaemia. Advanced age, employment, not taking IFAS during the\ncurrent pregnancy and MUAC of less than 23 cm were significantly and independently associated\nwith anaemia during pregnancy. Thus, special attention should be given to pregnant women who\nare employed and advanced in age. Moreover, they should be educated on the importance of taking\niron and folic acid during pregnancy.
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