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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hematol.
Sec. Red Cells, Iron and Erythropoiesis
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhem.2025.1550664
Anemia and its predictors among neonates at Wachemo University Teaching Hospital, Central Ethiopia. A Facility based cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted
Kemal Mohamed Shifa *
Wondwossen Tadesse 
Dagmawi Woldesenbet 
Milkiyas Abebe 
Abdulhakim Mussema Eliyas Tamene 
Solomon Gebre - Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hossana, Central Ethiopia, Hossana, Ethiopia
Background: Neonatal anemia occurs when the blood contains lower hemoglobin levels or erythrocytes than normal. Maternal obstetric and neonatal clinical characteristics and other medical conditions can contribute to this condition.A facility-based cross-sectional study of 277 infants was conducted from October 14, 2023, to January 2, 2024. Consecutive sampling techniques were employed to enroll 277 mothers and their neonates, resulting in a response rate of 96.18%. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to gather information on neonates' sex, sociodemographic characteristics, and nutritional status using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. A Mindray BC-3000PlusHematology Analyzer was utilized to analyze the blood samples collected from the mothers and their neonates. All raw data were coded and entered into SPSS version 27 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and logistic regression. Statistical significance was established at a p-value of 0.05.The overall prevalence of neonatal anemia was 21.7%(60/277). Mean hemoglobin levels were significantly lower among neonates born to anemic mothers than among those born to non-anemic mothers [(12.26±2.66) Vs (13.39±1.59), p <0.001). The findings from this study also showed the protective effect of taking "iron and folic acid" supplementation during pregnancy on the development of neonatal anemia (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.15, 0.07-0.34, p <0.001).During pregnancy, taking "iron and folic acid" supplements can prevent the development of neonatal anemia. Maternal anemia is correlated with lower mean hemoglobin levels in neonates. Therefore, during antenatal care follow-up, policymakers should consider implementing maternal health education regarding infant anemia and relevant health interventions to reduce the incidence of infant anemia.
Keywords: Prevalence, Neonatal anemia, Iron and folic acid supplementation, Risk factors, Ethiopia
Received: 23 Dec 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shifa, Tadesse, Woldesenbet, Abebe, Mussema, Tamene and Gebre. 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:
Kemal Mohamed Shifa, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hossana, Central Ethiopia, Hossana, Ethiopia
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