Introduction: Anemia in pregnancy is still a public health problem in developing countries including Malaysia. Early screening of pregnant mothers who have risk factors of anemia could help identifying these potential anemic mothers and hence targeted for intervention.
Methodology: A cross sectional study IN 2008 was conducted among pregnant women who attended government health clinics in Johor Bahru district to assess the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy and factors associated with it using a structured questionnaire.
Result: Prevalence of anemia in pregnancy (Hb<11.0 g/dl) was 36.6% and majority in mild category (Hb 9-<11 g/dl). The associated factors of anemia in pregnancy were birth spacing, dietary intake with high iron content and iron pill consumption. Multivariate analyses revealed that iron pill intake was the most important factor influencing anemia in pregnancy.
Discussion and conclusion: Even though Johor Bahru is a big town with good health facilities, the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy was quite high. Results were compared with previous studies. Emphasis on compliance to iron pills is very important in prevention and treating anemia in pregnancy
Key Words: anemia in pregnancy, birth spacing and iron pill intake
Study site: Four urban and two rural klinik kesihatan, Johor, Malaysia