PREVALENCE OF ANEMIA AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN AND THE ASSOCIATED FACTORS

Abstract

Defined by the WHO as a hemoglobin level lower than 11.0 g/dl, anemia in pregnancy is one of the global public health problems where around 38% of pregnant women are affected. Prevalence of anemia in pregnancy varies between 17% and 31% in Europe and North America, 44-53% in South East Asia, and 53-61% in Africa. Rwanda has made tremendous progress in reducing most of the leading causes of maternal adverse outcomes (deaths, premature, abortions, etc.). In this line, the RDHS report published in 2020 showed a decline in the anemia prevalence among women from 23% to 13.1% since 2015. However, little is known about the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and its associated factors at a decentralized level. This study in Kibogora DH & Kibogora HC comes to fill the gap.