Assessment of Attitude, Knowledge and Prevention of Anemia in Pregnancy among Women Attending Antenatal Care in Udi LGA in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluated the knowledge, attitude and preventive practices towards anemia among women attending ANC in Udi LGA, Enugu State. Anemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency disorders affecting pregnant women in developing countries, including Nigeria. Anemia during pregnancy is commonly associated with poor pregnancy outcomes and can result in complications that threaten the life of both the mother and fetus. Specific objectives of this study are; to determine the knowledge level of women attending ANC in selected clinics in Udi LGA on anemia, to determine the attitude towards anemia among women attending ANC clinic and to evaluate the knowledge level on preventive measures against anemia among women attending ANC in Udi LGA. A questionnaire-based study was implored to obtain direct information from the respondents and a total of three hundred and eighty-seven (387) respondents were captured. The mean age of the respondents is 32 years. Those between the ages of 26-30 and 31-35 are the highest in number with the frequency of 100 (25.83). Majority of the respondents 159 (46.08) had tertiary education. The results showed that most of the respondents (74.0%) had a good knowledge of anemia in pregnancy. About, 19.2% had an average level of knowledge while 6.8% had a poor knowledge of anemia in pregnancy. It also showed that (59.5%) had a right or excellent attitude towards anemia in pregnancy. About, 27.7% had an average or fair attitude. More so, (75.7%) had an excellent preventive measure towards anemia during pregnancy. Therefore, this study shows that the majority of the respondents have good knowledge, the right attitude and preventive measures towards anemia during pregnancy. Thus more effort is encouraged in sensitization of the public.