KNOWLEDGE OF THE CAUSE AND PREVENTION OF ANAEMIA IN PREGNANCY AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN OBA ILE AKURE, ONDO STATE

Anaemia affects one-third of the world's population, which worsens neurological development of the growing foetus, increases morbidity and death of both the foetus and the pregnant woman, poor birth outcomes and reduces productivity at work. However, this can be prevented by implementing the strategies of Anaemia prevention methods. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of the cause and prevention of Anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Oba-Ile, Akure, Ondo State. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 pregnant women selected by a simple random sampling technique in Oba-ile Primary Health Centre, Akure, Ondo State. A well-structured questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of the cause and prevention of Anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Oba-Ile, Akure, Ondo State. Data were manually collected and analyzed electronically with the use of SPSS computer software version 23. The study findings revealed that majority of the respondents 54.5% are between the age of 24-29 years, with over two-thirds of them being married, and into trading (27.7%). A high level of knowledge of Anaemia and its causes in pregnancy among pregnant women (69.3%; mean = 14.8 ± 3.14) and a high level of practice of prevention of Anaemia among pregnant women (55.4%; mean = 6.82 ± 1.97). However, not up to half of the pregnant women sleep under insecticide treated net (47.5%), and 45.5% do not add dark leafy vegetables to their meal, while 46.5% reportedly do not regularly deworm. a statistically significant association between the respondent’s educational level, type of family and their practice of Anaemia prevention at P-value (0.001 < 0.05, X2 = 17.481; 0.013 < 0.05, X2 = 10.746) respectively. Therefore, nurses and midwives should engage in proper awareness of Anaemia in pregnancy among pregnant women during antenatal clinics, and its preventive measures.