Prevalence and risk factors for anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Benue State University Teaching Hospital, North-central Nigeria.

In developing countries such as Nigeria, anaemia in pregnancy is thought to be one of the most common complications of pregnancy accounting for a significant level of maternal morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy among women attending the booking Antenatal Clinic (ANC) in Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), North-Central, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from May 2019 to January, 2020 on 299 women. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic, clinical, and nutritional information from pregnant women attending the clinic who consented to participate in the study. Haematocrit levels were stratified according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) classification as follows: <7mg/dL - severe, 7-8.99mg/dL - moderate, 9-10.99mg/dL - mild anaemia and ≧ 11mg/dL - non-anaemic. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Chi-square test was conducted to determine relationships. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the risk factors for anaemia among pregnant women. P-value <0.05 and odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval were used to assess the association. The mean age of respondents was 29.9, ranging from 18 - 40 years. One hundred and twenty-three (41.1%) women were anaemic (haemoglobin [Hb] < 11.0 g/dL). The majority (95.1%) of these anaemic patients were mildly anaemic, whereas 4.9% were moderately anaemic. There was no case of severe anaemia (Hb < 7.0 g/dL). The prevalence of anaemia was significantly higher in those within the age group of 20-24 years and those with lower levels of education (P < 0.05). The patient's gestational age, number of miscarriages and birth interval had no significant relationship with the haemoglobin concentration among the pregnant women in this study (P > 0.05). However, parity, clinical features such as fever, and practices like use of haematinics and non-consumption of meat, poultry and fish were significantly related to anaemia (P < 0.05). The pregnant women who did not take haematinics were 5.8 times likely to develop anaemia (OR=5.8, 95%CI [2.3, 14.5]) while pregnant women who did not eat meat, poultry or fish were 9 times more likely to become anaemic than pregnant women who ate (OR=9.0, 95%CI [1.0, 79.5]). The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy is high among women attending booking antenatal clinic at BSUTH, North-Central, Nigeria, and requires specific intervention that address the identified risk factors.