Prevalence of Anaemia among Antenatal Clinic Attendees at A Tertiary Hospital in South West, Nigeria

Introduction: Anaemia in pregnancy is a global public health problem causing both maternal and perinatal morbidities and mortalities. Prevalent rates vary from one geopolitical region to the other. Efforts have been made to reduce this condition during pregnancy through the use of haematinics and other interventions. However, despite all the efforts put in place, pregnant women still present with this condition. This study was carried out to find out its prevalence rate and the factors responsible for it. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional institutional based study carried out at the antenatal clinic of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital Complex, Akure, Ondo State, South West, Nigeria. The study used a systematic sampling to recruit 400 antenatal clinic patients over a period of 16weeks starting from the 16th of August to 16th of December 2022.The women were interviewed with copies of a structured questionnaire administered by trained research doctors who also helped in the collection of the blood samples. About 3mls of venous blood was collected from the antecubital vein using plastic disposable syringes into sample bottles containing ethylene diamine-tetra acetic acid (EDTA) and the bottles labelled accordingly. Packed cell volume and red cell morphology were done for the women at the time of recruitment. Data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22). Descriptive statistics were computed for all relevant variables, Chi Square test and Multivariate logistic regression were used to test for association and possible risk factors for anaemia. The level of significance was set at ????