Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices regarding iron and Folic acid Supplementation among pregnant women attending Antenatal care clinics in Kira Municipality health centers

Abstract

Anemia remains a public health problem globally and most especially in developing countries. Iron and folic acid supplementation is recommended by the Ministry of Health, Uganda as a preventative measure against anemia among pregnant women. However despite such efforts to control anemia especially during pregnancy, this public health problem has continued to persist leading to increased morbidity and mortality. There has been limited study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Iron and Folic acid Supplementation among pregnant women in the study area. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Iron and Folic acid Supplementation among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Kira Municipality health centers. A health facility based cross sectional study was carried out in three different health centers in Kira Municipality. A total of 105 pregnant women seeking Antenatal Care were selected by systematic random sampling and data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding IFAS was collected using an interviewer administered and structured questionnaire. Qualitative data was collected by conducting in-depth key informant interviews with the health workers. Quantitative data was then entered into SPSS (statistical package of social science) version 26 and analyzed. Results: of the 105 pregnant women that were interviewed, majority(58.1%) were between 18-25 years. 82.9% of them reported having heard about iron and folic acid supplementation during pregnancy with health workers being the main source of information for 60% of the women, 56.2% reported having heard about anemia and 58.1% knew that they were at a risk of anemia. Most of them (90.5%) agreed to take iron and folic acid supplements for their future pregnancies. 61.9% of them were taking these supplements for their current pregnancy. Major constraints that were faced by the pregnant women included forgetfulness and stock-outs at the health facility. Conclusion and recommendations: This study found that majority of the women had heard about IFAS during pregnancy, however half of the women started taking these supplements after the first month of pregnancy yet supplementation is supposed to begin prior to conception as per the MoH, Uganda guidelines. There is need to increase awareness and positive perception about the importance of these supplements to the mother and her child and counsel women about the urgent need to start supplementation as early as possible. Gestational age of current pregnancy was significantly associated with intake of these supplements hence there is need to counsel encourage women to continue taking these supplements regardless of gestational age