Caspian Journal of Reproductive Medicine
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Winter-Spring 2018

Despite the fact that there are various methods for the treatment and prevention of maternal anemia, there are still many pregnant women affected by anemia-related health problems and contributing factors. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pregnant women with regard to the prevention of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in public hospitals of Harar, Eastern Ethiopia.

This cross-sectional study was done on 128 pregnant women, who referred to public hospitals in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia for antenatal care. Sample selection was based on random sampling. The anemia status of the pregnant women was determined by measuring their hemoglobin and ferritin serum levels. The data was collected using a close-ended, semi-structured questionnaire.

According to the results, 68% of the participants had no IDA. Most of them had heard about anemia and defined it. The majority of them knew the causes and the preventive methods (58.6%). Most of them had a positive perception of the consumption of folic acid, family planning, feeding on regular meals. Most of them (59.4%) took folic acid during pregnancy, and 56.3% fed on fiber-rich food.

This study found that around one-third of the pregnant women had IDA.  So it is vital to promote health education, involve private health institutions and husbands. Health facilities and stakeholders should, therefore, work on increasing the awareness, positive perception and skill necessary for the prevention of IDA.

Gestational weight gain during pregnancy is supposedly associated with the increased risk of some adverse outcomes. Thus, assessing the trend of gestational weight gain and its associated risk factors for each population may reduce the related harms. We examined the trend of gestational weight gain and some of its associated risk factors in a sample of Iranian pregnant women.

From five health centers in Isfahan, 458 pregnant women were selected through a multi-stage sampling method. The gestational weight gain was measured nine times during pregnancy. The latent growth curve model was used to investigate the trend of gestational weight gain and a random effects model was used to identify the factors affecting gestational weight gain during pregnancy.

The mean weight at the baseline was 58.7 ± 0.1 kg. It increased by a mean of 301 ± 0.0 grams per week. The pre-pregnancy weight (p<0.001) and parity (p<0.001) had a significant indirect effect, and motherchr('39')s height (p=0.028) had a significant direct effect on gestational weight gain. Motherchr('39')s age showed no significant effect on weight gain during pregnancy.

More than 50% of our sample had an abnormal weight gain. Thus, according to the criteria proposed by the American Institute of Medicine (IOM), it is vital to promote the knowledge of women and health care providers and raise their awareness about the determinants of abnormal gestational weight gain and their consequences.