Anaemia and its associated factors among pregnant women in Malaysia

@#Introduction: Despite remarkable improvement in maternal health, anaemia during pregnancy remains a significant public health threat to Malaysian women. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, severity, and associated factors of anaemia in pregnancy among pregnant mothers in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Methods: A total of 482 pregnant mothers were recruited using cluster sampling. Data were collected using a validated and pre-tested self-administered questionnaire consisting of four sections, namely socio-demographic and socioeconomic details, obstetric history, nutritional factors, and iron supplementation status. In this study, anaemia in pregnancy was defined as haemoglobin (Hb) <11.0 g/dL, which was based on blood test taken during the first trimester. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictive model for anaemia during pregnancy among the respondents. Results: The prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy among the respondents was 22.0%, with 95.3% respondents mildly anaemic. Respondents with an intake of iron supplementation of once daily (AOR=0.191, 95% CI: 0.074- 0.914), more than once daily (AOR=0.149, 95%CI: 0.091-0.248), and low intake of seafood (AOR=0.320, 95% CI: 0.187-0.526) were less likely to develop anaemia during pregnancy. Conclusion: The findings revealed moderate level of anaemia in pregnancy, which was dominated by those in the mild category, with increased risk predicted among young mothers. Iron supplementation (once daily or more) and low intake of seafood protected mothers from developing anaemia during pregnancy.

The effectiveness of theory-based intervention to improve haemoglobin levels among women with anaemia in pregnancy

@#health problem throughout the world. The effects of theexisting intervention in ensuring compliance to thesubscribed regimen and the impact of nutrition education inenhancing dietary modification during pregnancy inMalaysia have been minimal. This study aims to develop,implement and evaluate the effects of the Health BeliefModel educational intervention on haemoglobin level amonganaemic pregnant women.Methods: This is a quasi-experimental research with pre-post test design with control group involving 81 participantsper group from two health clinics in Sepang. The primaryoutcome was a change in the haemoglobin levels followingeducational intervention. Secondary outcomes includeknowledge on anaemia, Health Belief Model (HBM)constructs, dietary iron intake and compliance towards ironsupplementation. The intervention group received a HBM-based education intervention programme. Results: The response rate in the intervention and controlgroup were 83.9% and 82.7% respectively. Generalisedestimating equations analysis showed that the interventionwas effective in improving the mean haemoglobin level(β=0.75, 95%CI=0.52, 0.99, p<0.001), the knowledge score(β=1.42, 95%CI=0.36, 2.49, p=0.009), perceived severityscore (β=2.2, 95%CI= 1.02, 3.39, p<0.001) and increasedproportion of high compliance level (AOR=4.59, 95%CI=1.58,13.35, p=0.005).Conclusion: HBM-based health education programme hasproven to be effective in improving the haemoglobin levels,knowledge scores, perceived severity scores andcompliance level of participants. The study resultsemphasized on the effectiveness of such an approach,therefore it is recommended that future educationalinterventions which aim at increasing preventive healthybehaviours in pregnant women may benefit from theapplication of this model in primary health care settings.