Prevalence of Anemia and Its Risk Factors among Pregnant Women in Dakar and Fatick Regions, Senegal

Abstract

Objectives: Iron Folic acid supplementation (IFAS) during pregnancy has been implemented in Senegal for many years.  However, prevalence of anemia is still high among pregnant women. To provide data for program improvement, we conducted a study to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated risk factors in Dakar and Fatick regions. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey of 483 randomly selected pregnant women in Dakar and Fatick regions. Hemoglobin level was determined by HemoCue photometer, and questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-economic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Data were cleaned, coded and analyzed with Epi Info. Financial barriers were defined as: family decision makers who restrict expenditures, limited financial resources. Results: Results showed that the prevalence of anemia (Hb <11g/dL) among pregnant women was 66.4% and 71.4% in Dakar and Fatick regions, respectively. Pregnant women had lower risks of being anemic when they had an income-generating activity (OR=1.63, CI (1.1 - 2.5)), had been supplemented for at least 90 days (OR=2.26, CI (1.2 - 4.3)), and had no financial barrier to access IFAS (OR=0.40, CI (0.1 - 0.9]. 50% of the pregnant women wrongly associated side effects to IFA consumption and consequently initiated IFAS after the 2nd trimester. Conclusions: Anemia is a severe public health problem among pregnant women in these two regions. Interventions designed to address anemia should improve accessibility to IFAS through promotion of early initiation of IFAS during pregnancy and distribution of free IFAS.