Abstract:
Introduction: Anaemia during pregnancy is one of the most common indirect obstetric causes of
maternal mortality in low-income countries. It is responsible for poor maternal and fetal outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and factors associated with anaemia in
pregnancy at the antenatal care unit at Tema General Hospital in the Greater Accra Region.
Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2019, with
422 pregnant women between the ages 15-49 years, who attended antenatal care (ANC) at the
Tema General Hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to ascertain data on sociodemographic
and economic, obstetric characteristics, health conditions, consumption of ironcontaining
foods, knowledge on anaemia, first and current haemoglobin recording of all
participants. Data were analysed using STATA version 14.
Results: Out of 422 pregnant women who were interviewed, 171(41%) were found to be anaemic
(Hb:<11 g/dl) at the period of the interview; with a mean of 11.05g/dl. Two hundred and fifty one
(59.5%) (Hb: ≥ 11g/dl) had no anaemia, ninety (21%) were mildly anaemic (Hb: 9.0—10.9g/dl),
seventy eight (18.5%) were moderately anaemic (Hb: 7.0 – 8.9g/dl) and three (1%) (Hb < 7g/dl)
were severely anaemic. Bivariate analysis showed that age, marital status, occupation, family
income and source of information from media were statistically associated with the condition.
After adjustment it revealed age, source of information from either a health worker or from the
media and interpregnancy interval were all significant predictive indicators
Conclusion: Anaemia in pregnancy stands to be a severe public health problem at Tema General
Hospital. Female reproductive health education should be encouraged at all levels and information
from health workers to pregnant women should be individualized and targeted towards available
resources.
