Adherence to iron-folic acid supplement and associated factors among antenatal care attending pregnant mothers in governmental health institutions of Adwa town, Tigray, Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study.

<h4>Background</h4>Iron-folic acid supplementation during pregnancy is among the very effective interventions to prevent iron deficiency anemia, low birth weight, and prematurity. There is a need of having recent studies on adherence to the supplement that consider the very recent interv...

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Main Authors: Tsgehana Gebregyorgis Gebremichael, Tsehaynesh Gidey Welesamuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227090&type=printable
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Summary:<h4>Background</h4>Iron-folic acid supplementation during pregnancy is among the very effective interventions to prevent iron deficiency anemia, low birth weight, and prematurity. There is a need of having recent studies on adherence to the supplement that consider the very recent interventions targeted to scale up the use of iron-folic acid (IFA) supplement. Therefore we sought to assess adherence to IFA supplement and its associated factors among antenatal care attending pregnant mothers in governmental health institutions of Adwa town.<h4>Methods</h4>Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 629 antenatal care attending pregnant mothers. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the study subjects. Data were collected through face-to-face interview and chart-review. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression was computed. Variables with P-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant at 95% confidence interval (CI).<h4>Result</h4>Only 40.9% (95%CI: 37.0%- 44.7%) of participants were adherent (took four or more tablets per week). Women in the age group of 25-29 years [AOR: 2.22(1.21-4.07)] had increased odds of adherence as compared to those in the age group ≥ 35 years. Women who received nutrition counseling [AOR: 4.12(2.12-8.03)] and partner support [AOR: 2.23 (1.42-3.49)] had increased odds of adherence as compared to those who didn't receive nutrition counseling and partner support respectively. Similarly, women who had satisfactory knowledge on IFA supplement (AOR: 2.16(1.37-3.40)) had increased odds of adherence as compared to those who didn't have satisfactory knowledge on IFA supplement.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Adherence to the supplement was low. Efforts shall be done to improve awareness of pregnant mothers about IFA supplement through targeted nutrition counseling that includes the engagement of a partner.
ISSN:1932-6203