Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Departments of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Science, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Birth Defects Res. 2023 Apr 1;115(6):647-657. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.2157. Epub 2023 Feb 15.
Neural tube closure defect (NTD) such as spinal bifida and anencephaly are serious neurological disabilities that occur when the neural tube does not close completely within 28 days of conception. Even though Folic acid supplementation during and before pregnancy is proved to significantly reduces the risk of NTDs. Currently only 23% of folic acid preventable NTD achieved Worldwide; mainly due to lack of awareness about folic acid supplementation. This study was aimed to assess the knowledge of Folic acid supplementation among pregnant women attending antenatal care at public health facilities in Hawassa Ethiopia.
Institution based cross-sectional study was employed among 358 pregnant women attending antenatal care. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 22. The knowledge of Folic acid supplementation was assessed using six multiple-choice questions. The association between the dependent and independent variables were analyzed using Binary Logistic regression model and statistically significant predictors at p-value <.05 at 95% CI.
This study indicated that only 7.5% (95% CI, 5.3-10.1) of pregnant women had good knowledge of Folic acid supplementation. The pregnant women who had a history of at least one previous pregnancy loss AOR = 12.64 (95% CI: 4.98, 32.08) and those who had preconception consultation AOR = 11.77 (95% CI: 3.01, 46.07) were more likely to have good knowledge of periconceptional folic acid supplementation as compared to their counterpart.
The knowledge of periconceptional folic acid supplementation among pregnant women was worryingly low in the study area. Alternative and more effective strategies are needed if the population of Ethiopia is to benefit fully from the folic acid prevention of NTDs. Thus, in Ethiopia the future strategies should focus on the possible way to reach the last group through fortification of staple foods with folic acid along with improving women's awareness on folic acid importance in reducing Neural tube defects.
神经管闭合缺陷（NTD），如脊柱裂和无脑畸形，是一种严重的神经发育障碍，当神经管在受孕后 28 天内未能完全闭合时发生。尽管在怀孕期间补充叶酸已被证明可显著降低 NTD 的风险。但目前全世界仅有 23%的 NTD 可通过补充叶酸预防；主要是由于人们对叶酸补充的认识不足。本研究旨在评估在埃塞俄比亚 Hawassa 的公立医疗机构接受产前护理的孕妇对叶酸补充的认识。
采用基于机构的横断面研究，纳入 358 名接受产前护理的孕妇。使用访谈者管理的结构化问卷收集数据，并使用 SPSS 版本 22 进行分析。使用六个多项选择题评估叶酸补充的知识。使用二元逻辑回归模型分析依赖变量和独立变量之间的关系，并在 95%置信区间（CI）和 p 值<.05 时进行统计学显著预测因素分析。
本研究表明，只有 7.5%（95%CI，5.3-10.1）的孕妇对叶酸补充有良好的认识。与对照组相比，有至少一次既往妊娠丢失史的孕妇（AOR=12.64，95%CI：4.98，32.08）和有孕前咨询的孕妇（AOR=11.77，95%CI：3.01，46.07）更有可能对围孕期补充叶酸有良好的认识。
在研究区域，孕妇对围孕期叶酸补充的认识令人担忧地较低。如果埃塞俄比亚的人口要充分受益于叶酸预防 NTD，就需要采取替代和更有效的策略。因此，在埃塞俄比亚，未来的策略应重点关注通过在主食中强化叶酸以及提高妇女对叶酸在减少神经管缺陷方面的重要性的认识，以可能的方式接触到最后一组人群。
