Abstract
PREVALENCE OF ANAEMIA AND SELECTED FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ANAEMIA AMONG THE PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING SELECTED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES IN SEBHA, LIBYA

Anaemia is one of the frequently observed nutritional deficiency disease in the world today. It is especially prevalent in women of reproductive age particularly during pregnancy when it is often a contributory cause of maternal death. The aim of the study were to identify the prevalence of anaemia and determine the selected factors associated with anaemia among pregnant women. An exploratory study was designed to explore the prevalence of anaemia and selected factors associated with anaemia among the pregnant women attending selected health care facilities in Sebha, Libya. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select sample and it consisted of 98 pregnant women. Data was collected using structured interview schedule. Findings of the study showed that most of the subjects 62(63% ) were non- anaemic, 18(19%) had mild anaemia, 13(13%) had moderate anaemia and 5(5%) were severely anaemic. According to the knowledge grade majority of the subjects 86(88%) had poor knowledge of anaemia, 12(12%) had moderate knowledge and none of them had good knowledge of anaemia. These findings suggested that lack of knowledge was a factor associated with anaemia. There was a significant association between educational status of pregnant women and grade of anaemia at p<0.05. Findings of the study indicated the need to conduct frequent assessment of knowledge and risk factors of anaemia among the pregnant women. Awareness programmes should be conducted among the pregnant women for their promotion of health