Speaker
Description
The association of anaemia with maternal and perinatal mortality poses a significant public health threat. This challenge is often exacerbated among adolescent pregnant women in low and middle-income countries. However, the prevalence of anaemia and its causes among pregnant teenagers in Ghana remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant teenagers and its associated predisposing risk factors. This study was carried out at Ussher Hospital in Accra. About 329 teenage pregnant women aged 13-19 who attended Antenatal Care (ANC) services within the period of June, 2023 to August, 2023 were recruited. Questionnaires were administered to the participants to collect their socio-demographic information after informed consent had been taken. The laboratory results for the participants with respect to Haemoglobin (Hb) level and sickling status were recorded from their ANC book. Data was presented in percentage in a tabular format. The findings revealed that 72% of pregnant adolescents were anaemic. About 5.8% had severe anaemia, while 43.1% and 23.1% had moderate and mild anaemia, respectively. Non-compliance with intake of iron and folate supplements and poor dietary practices due to financial constraints as well as genetic factors such as sickle cell disease were the primarily identified as the predisposing or risk factors that contributed to the high prevalence of the condition recorded in this study. This study recommends nutritional education and counselling as well as interventions that promote encourages utilization of iron-folate supplements to promote nutritional balance and that will prevent anaemia especially during pregnancy.