Prevalence of Anaemia and Associated Risk Factors in Pregnant Women in the 3rd Trimester of Pregnancy

Open Access

Abstract

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is a significant public health problem, especially in low and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anaemia and its associated risk factors among pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy in Bangladesh. Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Department of Medicine, General Hospital (Victoria), Narayanganj, Bangladesh from January 2024 to December 2024, on 80 pregnant women in their third trimester. Data on socio-demographic, obstetric, clinical, nutritional, and antenatal care were obtained from a structured questionnaire. Haemoglobin was measured, and anaemia was defined as per the WHO criteria. Data were entered and analyzed on SPSS version 26. Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia was 57.5%, mild (30%), moderate (25%), and severe (2.5%). On multivariable logistic regression, significant independent predictors included irregular or absent iron-folic acid supplementation (AOR 4.28; 95% CI: 1.55-11.84), poor dietary diversity (AOR 3.76; 95% CI: 1.36-10.39), fewer than four antenatal care visits (AOR 3.45; 95% CI: 1.22-9.77), low monthly family income below 20,000 BDT (AOR 3.12; 95% CI: 1.18-8.26), and rural residence (AOR 2.68; 95% CI: 1.04-6.91). Conclusions: Anaemia is very common in the third trimester and is strongly linked to modifiable risk factors. To reduce the burden of anaemia in this population, it is important to strengthen iron-folic acid supplementation programmes, improve dietary diversity, and increase antenatal care utilization.