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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Maternal Health
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1421884

Infectious and obstetric determinants of anemia among pregnant women in Southwest Ethiopia

Provisionally accepted
Tewodros Yosef Tewodros Yosef *Asaye Gizachew Asaye Gizachew Nigusie Shifera Nigusie Shifera
  • Mizan Tepi University, Mīzan Teferī, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Anaemia, characterized by low red blood cell or haemoglobin levels, impairs oxygen transport in the body and poses a major global public health issue, particularly affecting pregnant women and children. This study focuses on identifying the factors contributing to anaemia among pregnant women receiving antenatal care (ANC) at Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH) in southwest Ethiopia. A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted from July 1 to August 30, 2022, involving 370 pregnant women (90 with anaemia and 280 without). Data collection included questionnaires, laboratory tests (Hgb and stool examination), and anthropometric measurements. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis, with binary logistic regression identifying factors associated with anaemia. The significance level was set at a p-value <0.05. The study achieved a 100% response rate for both cases and controls. Factors identified as determinants of anaemia among pregnant women included malaria infection (AOR = 7.83, 95% CI: 3.89-15.8), hookworm infection (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.39-5.34), short birth interval (AOR = 7.11, 95% CI: 3.59-14.2), and history of unsafe abortion (AOR = 5.40, 95% CI: 2.46-11.8). This study found that malaria infection, hookworm infection, birth interval <33 months, and a history of unsafe abortion are factors contributing to anaemia in pregnant women. Strategies such as distributing insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) to combat malaria, improving sanitation, and anthelmintic drugs, promoting family planning to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, and providing preconception care can help reduce the incidence of anaemia.

    Keywords: Anaemia, Malaria, Birth interval, Unsafe abortion, Hookworm infection

    Received: 23 Apr 2024; Accepted: 05 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yosef, Gizachew and Shifera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tewodros Yosef, Mizan Tepi University, Mīzan Teferī, Ethiopia

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