Prevalence of Anemia among pregnant women in their first trimester at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.

By Michael Antwi

1
 BACKGROUND
Anemia has been a topical issue in many developing countries because of its association with
adverse pregnancy outcome such as increased rate of maternal and perinatal mortality,
premature delivery, low birth weight, fetal physical growth and mental impairment and infant
death (Mayaer and Tegman, 2005).

World Health Organization (WHO) defines anemia in pregnancy as hemoglobin concentration

below 11.0 g/dl or 10.5 g/dl in the second half of pregnancy(Mayaer and Tegman, 2005).

The burden of the disease is heavy and more so in sub Saharan Africa (Broek et al., 2000).
There is therefore the need to determine the prevalence and factors that predispose pregnant
women to anemia at Cape Coast teaching hospital (CCTH) during their first trimester to help
design specific public health intervention.

2
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
 In the year 2003, it was estimated that 200 women die during pregnancy and child birth as a
result of complications related to anemia (GHS, 2003 annual report).
 To help address this situation, the Ghana Health Service implemented a policy to improve
hemoglobin levels during pregnancy by giving iron supplementation, health education on
nutrition, ensuring quality of care, prevention of malaria infection and prevention of
helminthes infestation in the year 2003.
 Despite the effort made by government and other stakeholders, anemia during pregnancy is
still a public health problem (khan et al., 2006).
 In 2010, the Ghana Health Service ranked anemia in pregnancy sixth among the top ten
diseases in the country (GHS, 2010 annual report).
 Even though many researches have been conducted, their results revealed that the
determinant of anemia vary from place to place. This indicate a need for local data to
address the problem.

3
OBJECTIVES

AIM

The study is aimed at determining the prevalence and factors that predispose pregnant

women to anemia during their first trimester at Cape Coast teaching hospital.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• To determine anemia levels in first trimester pregnant women.

• To assess malaria parasites estimation results.

• To determine the socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant

women in their first trimester using standard questionnaires.

4
 METHODOLOGY
Study design
This will be a cross sectional
study which will be carried out at
the Cape Coast teaching hospital
antenatal care clinic.
Sampling method
A convenient sampling method
will be used to select 200
pregnant women in their first
trimester attending antenatal
care clinic at the Cape Coast
teaching hospital
Study site Study population
The study will be carried out at The study comprise of all
the Cape Coast teaching hospital
antenatal care clinic, Cape Coast-
pregnant women in their first
Ghana. trimester receiving antenatal
care at the Cape Coast
teaching hospital, Cape Coast
Sample size -Ghana.
Using a 95% confidence level and
a 4% confidence interval, with a
population of about 300
participants, then from the
sample size calculator, I will need
200 patients for the work.
5
EXPECTED OUTCOME

At the end of this study, hemoglobin concentration will be expected to

be low less than 11.0g/dl and will correspond with the patient’s
nutritional and socio-economic status.

6
BUDGET AND TIMELINE

Budget Timeline
ITEMS COST(GH CEDIS) EVENTS DURATION
Questionnaire 50 Proposal writing October-November, 2018
Internet services 50 Thesis writing December, 2018
Data collection November-December,
Photocopies 30 2018
Transportation 100 Data analysis January-February, 2019
Miscellaneous 50 Results compilation and February-March, 2019
interpretation
Total 280
Completion of April, 2019
thesis/defense

7
 REFERENCES
• Kefiyalew, F., Zenene,E. Asres ,Y. Gedefaw, L. (2014). Anemia among pregnant women in South East Ethiopia; prevalence, severity
and associated risks factors. BMC Research Notes; 7(1):1
• Karaoglu,L.,Pehlivan,E.,Egri,M.,Dephrem,C.,Gunes,G.,Genc,M.F,etal.(2010)The prevalence of nutritional anemia in pregnancy in
an East Anatolian Province, Turkey, BMC Public Health; 10(1):1.
• Crawley, J. (2004) Reducing the Burden of Anemia in Infants and Young Children in Malaria Endemic Countries of Africa: From
Evidence to Action. Am.J.Trop. Med Hyg 71:25-34
• WHO. The Global Prevalence of Anemia in 2011, 2015.
• World Health Organization (WHO). The Prevalence of Anemia in Women. A tabulation of available information. Geneva,
Switzerland: WHO; 1992. WHO/MCH/MSM/192.2
• Yan den Broek, N.R, Letsky, E.A (2016). Etiology of anemia in South Malawi. American journal of clinical Nutrition. 72;247-256
• De Mayer, E., adiels Tegman, M. World Health Organization- Prevalence of anemia in the world. World statistics, 2005, Geneva;
WHO 2005. World Health Statistics quarterly , 1998;38:302-316
• Safakis, S. & Pharmakides, G. (2000). Anemia in pregnancy , Annals of The New York Academy of Science: 900; 125.36