Nutrition counselling and knowledge on iron and folic acid supplementation among pregnant women in Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: In the world, a deficiency of iron is the most common nutrition disorder affecting more than 30% of the global populace more so children and women. Countries in the developing world are working in programs on implementing the iron and folic acid supplementation (IFAS) although the effectiveness of curbing anemia is usually affected by non-compliance to iron and folic acid supplements by women who are pregnant. The government of Kenya has come up with strategies to deal with anemia which include supplementation of iron and folic acid, implementation of focused antenatal care even though they have encountered a few hurdles resulting to sub optimal coverage and low levels of compliance.Methods: This was a mixed method study whereby both qualitative and quantitative data was analysed. A sample size of 385 pregnant women were interviewed. Data was collected using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data which was presented in form of frequency and percentage tables, bar graphs and pie charts. Results: Results show that 96% of the expectant women indicated that they were advised to take fruits while 86% indicated that they were advised to take green vegetables. This shows that pregnant women in the study had good knowledge of their dietary needs.Conclusions: The study concludes that expectant women had high nutrition knowledge on foods that raise the haemoglobin levels during gravidity.