Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy persists, especially in third world countries where poor diet, low levels of literacy, infections, infestations and cultural practices predispose pregnant women to being anaemic. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy and to ide...

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Main Authors: M.O. Owolabi, A.O. Owolabi, D.A. OlaOlorun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2012-06-01
Series:South African Family Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/1785
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author M.O. Owolabi
A.O. Owolabi
D.A. OlaOlorun
author_facet M.O. Owolabi
A.O. Owolabi
D.A. OlaOlorun
author_sort M.O. Owolabi
collection DOAJ
description Background: Anaemia in pregnancy persists, especially in third world countries where poor diet, low levels of literacy, infections, infestations and cultural practices predispose pregnant women to being anaemic. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy and to identify the possible associations between socio-economic status and anaemia in pregnancy among antenatal care seekers at Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Method: A total of 350 pregnant women were recruited at booking from the antenatal clinic of the hospital. A standardised questionnaire was administered to collect sociodemographic data. The subjects were stratified into upper, middle and lower socio-economic groups according to a scoring system designed by Olusanya et al. for Nigeria and other African countries. Anaemia is defined as a haemoglobin level of less than 11 g/dl by the World Health Organization. Results: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy was 58.0% in the study population. Anaemia prevalence was significantly higher among the subjects in the middle and lower socio-economic classes: 78.3% and 80.3% respectively (P 0.05). The majority of the severely anaemic subjects (80.0%) were from the lower social class. Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy was found to be high in this population. Low socio-economic status is significantly associated with increased prevalence and severity of anaemia. It is recommended that the socio-economic situation of women be improved. This no doubt will help to reduce anaemia in pregnancy.
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spelling doaj-art-453b207b01744aa58aac070232dbdf962025-08-20T03:43:47ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042012-06-0154310.1080/20786204.2012.108742194758Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western NigeriaM.O. Owolabi0A.O. Owolabi1D.A. OlaOlorun2Department of Family Medicine, Federal Medical CentreDepartment of Family Medicine, Federal Medical CentreDepartment of Family Medicine, Bowen University Teaching HospitalBackground: Anaemia in pregnancy persists, especially in third world countries where poor diet, low levels of literacy, infections, infestations and cultural practices predispose pregnant women to being anaemic. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy and to identify the possible associations between socio-economic status and anaemia in pregnancy among antenatal care seekers at Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Method: A total of 350 pregnant women were recruited at booking from the antenatal clinic of the hospital. A standardised questionnaire was administered to collect sociodemographic data. The subjects were stratified into upper, middle and lower socio-economic groups according to a scoring system designed by Olusanya et al. for Nigeria and other African countries. Anaemia is defined as a haemoglobin level of less than 11 g/dl by the World Health Organization. Results: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy was 58.0% in the study population. Anaemia prevalence was significantly higher among the subjects in the middle and lower socio-economic classes: 78.3% and 80.3% respectively (P 0.05). The majority of the severely anaemic subjects (80.0%) were from the lower social class. Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy was found to be high in this population. Low socio-economic status is significantly associated with increased prevalence and severity of anaemia. It is recommended that the socio-economic situation of women be improved. This no doubt will help to reduce anaemia in pregnancy.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/1785anaemia in pregnancyantenatal care seekersprevalencesocio-economic statusnigeria
spellingShingle M.O. Owolabi
A.O. Owolabi
D.A. OlaOlorun
Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
South African Family Practice
anaemia in pregnancy
antenatal care seekers
prevalence
socio-economic status
nigeria
title Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
title_full Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
title_fullStr Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
title_short Sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south-western Nigeria
title_sort sociodemographic factors in anaemia in pregnancy in south western nigeria
topic anaemia in pregnancy
antenatal care seekers
prevalence
socio-economic status
nigeria
url https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/1785
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AT aoowolabi sociodemographicfactorsinanaemiainpregnancyinsouthwesternnigeria
AT daolaolorun sociodemographicfactorsinanaemiainpregnancyinsouthwesternnigeria