Exploring Indonesian mothers' perspective on anemia during pregnancy: A qualitative approach

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a major problem experienced during pregnancy in Indonesia due to its effect on mothers and babies. Hence, various interventions have been implemented, but a significant reduction in the prevalence of anemia has not been attained. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate the perceptions of anemia among pregnant women in Aceh to design culturally relevant interventions.Methods: This qualitative study collected data from 24 pregnant women in Aceh Besar District, Indonesia, through focus group discussions (FGDs). Data were analyzed using the inductive content analysis (ICA) method.Results: Five themes emerged from the experiences of pregnant women with anemia: (1) anemia during pregnancy is perceived as a woman’s destiny, (2) there is a lack of knowledge related to clinical indicators of anemia, (3) there is a traditional taboo related to anemia, (4) the husband and family provide support related to preventing anemia, and (5) there is a need for cultural and religious-based health counseling.Conclusions: Interventions should be designed to provide health information on anemia in Aceh that considers the local knowledge, beliefs and values, combined with medical elements. This intervention will likely change the perceptions of pregnant women about anemia to ensure that they are able to better maintain their pregnancy. Furthermore, the implementation of programs to support pregnant women with anemia should ensure that health workers are adequately trained in cultural competency and are able to understand the needs of pregnant women.

High Burden of Anemia Among Pregnant Women in Tanzania: A Call to Address Its Determinants

“…These analyses showed a difference between regions in Tanzania like in other subpopulations (24). Like in other contexts (8), this can be explained by factors such as food preferences and feeding restrictions that go hand in hand with differences in traditions and customs (5,23); food security (23); agricultural activities, access to and coverage of essential preventive interventions including antenatal services, prevention and treatment of malaria, and iron and folic acid provision (14). Contrary to anemia among under ves in Tanzania (24), women in most of food rich regions have lower magnitude of anemia.…”

Hubungan Dukungan Suami Dengan Kepatuhan Konsumsi Tablet Tambah Darah Pada Ibu Hamil di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Penanggalan Provinsi Aceh Tahun 2023

“…Berdasarkan beberapa hasil penelitian, hambatan penatalaksanaan anemia pada ibu hamil meliputi infrastruktur, distribusi TTD kurang optimal (Darmawati, et al, 2020a), belum tersedia pedoman tatalaksana anemia komprehensif (Darmawati, et al, 2020a;Abdul, 2019), peminatan tablet zat besi yang masih rendah (Museka et al, 2018), inkompatibilitas keterampilan provider kesehatan dalam KIE (Williams et al, 2020), dan konseling yang hanya berfokus pada aspek klinis (Darmawati, et al, 2020a;Darmawati, et al, 2020b).…”