A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF ANAEMIA IN PREGNANCY
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A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF ANAEMIA IN PREGNANCY
ABSTRACT
Pregnancy-related anaemia is a prevalent issue in the majority of developing nations and a leading cause of illness and mortality, particularly in regions where malaria is endemic. Anaemia during pregnancy significantly affects both the mother’s and the fetus’s health. Anaemia has been linked to 20% of maternal fatalities in Africa.
Pregnancy-related anaemia is very curable and prevented. The researcher looked at how pregnant patients receiving prenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, were treated for anaemia.
The research instrument utilised for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire, and the study used a descriptive cross-sectional design. Using the Taro Yamane sample size formula, the researcher calculated the study’s sample size, which came out to be 220 respondents.
According to the study’s findings, the majority of respondents claimed to have never heard of anaemia, and understanding of the condition and its causes is low (21.2%).
Unfortunately, the majority of pregnant women in the Elele community were not well-informed about the condition of anaemia during pregnancy, despite having received secondary school.
Pregnancy-related anaemia was found to be caused by the following predisposing factors: parity (14.2%), adoption/miscarriage history (28.1%), blood transfusions (23%), and having sickle cell anaemia (28.3%).
Health-seeking behaviour and service utilisation will be significantly impacted by expanding access to high-quality health information and services. 84.1% of respondents said that money was the biggest obstacle, followed by time constraints (62.3%), a lack of family or friend support (59.3%), and accessibility to ANC services (56.9%). Regular medical checkups during pregnancy were the most effective technique for managing anaemia (70.4%).
Among the subjects, anaemia was highly prevalent. The prevalence of anaemia in this study was found to have been influenced by the following factors: parity, gestational age at booking, educational status, and birth interval.
To lessen the issue of anaemia and its impact on pregnancy outcomes in Nigeria, it is therefore important to educate women on early prenatal booking and adherence to the use of prescribed drugs (iron supplements, folate, and antimalarials).
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Pregnancy is a significant time for mothers and women in general, but it can also be a time of sorrow and suffering when problems and unfavourable events put the pregnancy at risk and result in sickness or death (Patil, 2013).
Red blood cell counts and haematocrit (PCV, haematocrit) frequently decline in tandem with haemoglobin diminution (WHO, 2011). Haemoglobin levels in the blood must be below the reference level for a person of a specific sex, age, and home location to be considered anaemic. According to Okoro (2015), anaemia is a sign of an underlying illness rather than a sickness in and of itself.
Anaemia is a serious global public health issue, particularly for developing-nation women who are capable of carrying children. An estimated 56 million pregnant women are anaemic in the majority of the world’s countries.
According to Chathuranga, Balasuriya, and Perera (2014), the total prevalence of anaemia during pregnancy is predicted to be 41.8%, compared to at least 5.7% in the USA and up to 75% in the Gambia.
Pregnancy-related anaemia in the United States was predicted to rise from 1.8% to 27.4% throughout the first and third trimesters. According to Goonewardene, Shehata, and Hamad (2012), some women experience anaemia prior to becoming pregnant, whereas others experience an increase in anaemia during pregnancy.
Pregnancy anaemia in foetuses increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, and perinatal mortality due to deterioration of placental oxygen, and it accounts for approximately 20% of maternal deaths in Africa.
Pregnancy anaemia is 61% in developing countries (WHO / FHE / MSM / 93.5), and it is more common and severe in pregnant women living in malaria areas (Idowu, Mafiana, and Dapo, 2015).
Pregnant women frequently have anaemia because of the high demand for iron and other vitamins brought on by the physiological strain of pregnancy. Malnutrition or illness can lead to an inability to satisfy the necessary level of these substances (Van den Broek, 2016).
According to WHO (2012), an estimated 2.15 billion people worldwide suffer from iron deficiency, which is severe enough to cause anaemia in 1.2 trillion individuals.
Components Iron deficiency affects about 90% of all forms of anaemia. Nearly half of the population in developing nations is iron deficient (Viteri, 2012). Worldwide, anaemia affects over 60% of pregnant women and 47% of non-pregnant women. Over 30% of pregnant women in the developed world suffer from iron deficiency, and the poor are disproportionately affected (Hughes, 2011). The prevalence of anaemia during pregnancy is 18% on average.
Pregnant women and women of reproductive age are more vulnerable to iron deficiency and negative balance because of their elevated iron needs during menstruation and pregnancy.
According to estimates, the average daily requirements for iron absorption in menstruation teenagers and adult women are 1.73 and 1.36 mg, respectively.
Nonetheless, 15% of menstruating adult women require more than 2.0 mg daily, and 5% require 2.84 mg daily. The demand for absorbed iron is increased by the combination of monthly losses and the growth of teenagers who are menstruation; 30% need more than 2.0 mg per day, 10% need up to 2.65 mg per day, and 5% need 3.2 mg per day.
Even with diets supplemented with high-quality iron, these requirements are extremely challenging to satisfy (WHO, 2012). Iron stocks should be extracted before pregnancy, and iron supplements should be used during pregnancy, since the average daily iron need rises to 5.6 mg (with a range of approximately 3.54 to 8.80 mg) in the second and particularly the third quarter.
Lactating amenorrhoea can help reduce iron shortage during breastfeeding, which is mostly caused by pregnancy and childbirth. Iron levels must rise while breastfeeding continues after menstruation resumes.
Women of childbearing age who have insufficient iron storage throughout pregnancy are at risk for iron deficiency during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Pregnancy-related folate shortage has also been reported, frequently resulting in combination folate and iron deficient anaemia. This is typical of lower socioeconomic groups, who mostly eat diets high in grains (low folic acid), which are amplified by long cooking and warming times.
The need for folate doubles during the second part of pregnancy and rises sharply when haemolytic conditions such hemoglobinopathies and malaria occur.
Folic acid absorption is impacted by malabsorption processes, which are prevalent in low-socioeconomic and tropical groups (WHO, 2012).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
One of the most common public health issues worldwide is anaemia. The World Health Organisation estimates that 3.5 trillion people worldwide suffer from anaemia in developing nations, with iron deficiency accounting for over half of all cases of anaemia (WHO/UNICEF, 2014). Iron deficiency anemia’s global illness burden is primarily concentrated in Southeast Asia-D and Africa.
These areas are responsible for 65% of disability-adjusted life years and 71% of the world’s mortality rate. A considerable percentage of young children and women of reproductive age may be adopt anaemic, however estimates of the prevalence of anaemia might differ (WHO, 2012). The only nutrient shortfall that is also important in developed nations is this one.
According to the WHO’s global database on anaemia, pregnant women (48%) and children aged 5 to 14 (46%), are the two groups most affected. As anticipated, anaemia is three to four times more common in emerging nations than in developed ones.
Pregnant women (56%), school-age children (53%), and non-pregnant women (44%), are the groups most impacted in developing nations. Pregnant women (18%) and preschoolers (17%) are the most affected groups in developed nations, followed by elders (12%) and non-pregnant women.
The highest prevalence of anaemia worldwide is seen in Asia, with Africa coming in second (WHO, 2012). The Indian subcontinent is home to over half of all anaemic women, with 88% of them developing anaemia during pregnancy.
According to available data, up to 60% of pregnant women in Niger experience anaemia throughout their pregnancy, particularly those who reside in rural regions (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and World Bank, 2015).
Folic acid, iron, vitamin, and trace element deficiencies are the primary causes of this anaemia. Consequently, it is more prevalent in undernourished and impoverished women.
One of the main causes of unfavourable pregnancy outcomes for Nigerian women is diet-related anaemia. It contributes to maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality both directly and indirectly. It causes foetal growth to be delayed inside the womb, which raises neonatal and perinatal mortality rates.
Severe anaemia during pregnancy (Hb <6.0 g/L) has claimed the lives of some Nigerian mothers (WHO, 2012). Very few programs presently target anaemia as a major problem of safe maternity in Nigeria, despite the fact that anaemia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the country.
According to WHO (2012), iron supplements are now only given to 58% of pregnant Nigerian women. This study on the management of anaemia among pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, was conducted because it is crucial to examine not only the prevalence of this concept but also its management and control strategies.
1.3 The objectives of the study
Using a case study of women receiving prenatal treatment at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu state, the main goal of this study is to evaluate anaemia in pregnant women.
In particular, the project aims to
Find out which pregnant women receiving antenatal treatment at UNTH are at risk for anaemia throughout pregnancy.
Examine the methods employed by the expectant mothers at UNTH to prevent and treat anaemia.
Identify the difficulties that UNTH pregnant women face when managing their anaemia.
1.4 Research Questions
The research problem and aims informed the formulation of the following questions:
Which pregnant women who get antenatal treatment at UNTH are at risk for anaemia throughout pregnancy?
What methods do pregnant women at UNTH employ to prevent and treat anaemia for themselves?
What difficulties does UNTH’s management of anaemia in pregnant women present?
1.5 Significance of the Research
Data on how pregnant women at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital seek regular medical attention for the treatment of anaemia during pregnancy and the final result will be generated by the study’s findings.
Nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals could use this information as a foundation to enhance maternal health and lower maternal morbidity and death. Enhancing maternal health care services and promoting their usage through evidence-based health education initiatives could accomplish this.
Additionally, the results will assist the medical community in raising awareness of maternal health and the use of prenatal care services for mothers.
This is because, if implemented, maternal health services will support the maintenance of optimal health during pregnancy and the prompt treatment of issues such as anaemia, if they occur.
1.6 Justification of the Research
The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu State served as the study’s site. The study was justified by the World Health Organization’s report on maternal health and safe motherhood, which revealed that maternal mortality is unacceptable, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria, and that efforts to lower it are progressing slowly in most parts of the world (WHO, 2014).
The need for this study to evaluate anaemia in pregnant women using a case study of women attending antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in order to develop strategies to improve the health outcome for mother and infant stems from the possibility that these rates are related to pregnancy-related complications, issues, and concerns.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The sole purpose of this study is to evaluate how pregnant patients receiving prenatal treatment at Madonna University Teaching Hospital in Enugu are managing their anaemia. The knowledge of pregnant women about anaemia, the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy, the risk factors for anaemia in pregnancy, and the methods employed by pregnant women at Madonna University Teaching Hospital to prevent and treat anaemia are among the variables examined in this study.
1.8 Definitions of Terms
Age, sex, altitude, smoking, and pregnancy status all affect anaemia, a condition in which the quantity of red blood cells or their ability to carry oxygen is insufficient to meet physiological demands. A haemoglobin content of less than 110 g/L (less than 11 g/dL) in venous blood during pregnancy is referred to as anaemia, which suggests that the blood’s ability to carry oxygen has decreased.
For individuals with illnesses or conditions where patient self-care is crucial, management refers to a system of coordinated healthcare actions and communications.
Women who are in the first to third semester of pregnancy—the period during which one or more offspring develops within a woman—are referred to as pregnant women.
… CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This chapter’s primary focus is the review of pertinent literature. A literature review discusses the level of knowledge at the time of writing as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.
It gives you details about the current state of the art regarding the topic of your essay. It looks at the corpus of research on the selected topic.
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