Assessment of iron and calcium supplements compliance among pregnant women attending antenatal care unit of Al-Sabah Banat primary health care unit in Ismailia, Egypt

 

Esraa B. Ahmed, Esraa A. Ali*, Esraa H. Mohamed, Eman A. Saleh, Asmaa K. Abd Elbaset, Ezzat M. Mahmmed, Ahmed S. Abd Elaal, Ahmed M. Elsayed, Abderhman F. Quora, Ziad M. Hashem, Mostafa M. Fouad, Hussein A. Awaad, Sarah M. Hussein and  Bassma A. Ibrahim

 

Research Paper I Published May,2015

 

Journal of Medical and Biological Science Research Vol. 1 (3), pp. 24-29

 

Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, the Ring Rd, Ismailia,Ismailia Governorate, Egypt

*Corresponding author E-mail: esraa_201111@yahoo.com     

Compliance of pregnant women with iron and calcium supplements is very important as it had a large effect on the mothers and their fetuses. There are causes of noncompliance such as  forgetfulness and side effects. This study aimed to asses’ compliance of pregnant women to calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) supplements during pregnancy to decrease health problems resulting from deficiency of these minerals for mothers and fetuses. This is a cross sectional study which asses the compliance and factors of non-compliance with Ca and Fe supplements among a convenient sample of pregnant women attending Al-Sabah Banat  primary health care unit. One hundred subjects were interviewed by using self-administered questionnaire including data about socio-demographic characteristics, compliance (knowledge attitude practice) and factors of non-compliance including adverse effects. The mean age of the participants was 27.25 ± 5.491 years. In the sample population, 83% of the women lived in rural areas. The highest percentage was technical graduate (34%) while the lowest percentage was primary graduate (9%). Most of the samples were housewife’s (80%), 95% of the sample knew about Fe supplements while 83% were compliant with it. The most present factor of non-compliance was constipation (35%) and the headache was the lowest present factor, only 3%. We found that 90% knew about Ca supplements. Most of the samples were compliant with Ca (82%). The most present factor was constipation (53.1%), while urticaria, flatulence and non-availability of Ca were the lowest present factors, only (6.1%). We found that 55% of population takes Ca and Fe according to the schedule. Non-compliance with Ca and Fe supplements during pregnancy is high. The most present factor for non-compliance with Ca was constipation, while urticaria, flatulence and non-availability of Ca were the lowest present factors. The most present factor for non-compliance with Fe was constipation and the headache was the lowest present factor.

Key Words: Calcium, compliance, iron, pregnancy, factors for noncompliance.

Abbreviation: RDA: Recommended Dietary Allowance, Ca: Calcium, Fe: Iron, RR: Relative Risk, CI: Confidence Interval.

 

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