Factors Associated With Adherence of Iron Folic Acid Supplementation Among Pregnant Women in Rural Soro District, Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia: Cross Sectional Study

Background: Iron deficiency anemia is a wide spread public health problem around the globe which accounts 20% of maternal death worldwide. World health organization recommends every pregnant woman to take a daily dose of 30-60mg of iron and 400μg of folic acid tablets starting from early months of pregnancy. Despite the advantages of iron and folic acid supplementation the proportion of pregnant women who took iron supplements for 90 days or more during their last pregnancy was very low. Therefore this study assessed the adherence to iron and folic acid supplementation and its associated factors among pregnant women in rural Soro district, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: Cross sectional study was employed to assess the compliance and factors associated with compliance of iron folic acid among women who gave birth one year prior to the date of survey. Simple random sampling method was applied to select the study subjects. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between the study variables and to control the possible confounding. Results: : From the whole study participants only 51(18.8%) women had taken iron folic acid supplements for at least 90 days during their last pregnancy. On multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for potential confounders women who had ANC of 4 and above times were 6.8 times more likely to take the minimum optimum dose of iron folic acid. Women who were frequently visiting health facilities for ante natal care were more likely to adhere for iron folic acid supplements than their counterparts. Conclusion: In this study high proportion of pregnant women did not take adequate dose of iron folic acid tablets during their last pregnancy. Every effort should be done to mobilize pregnant women to take the minimum acceptable dose of IFA during their pregnancy. Additional channels to provide IFA supplements for pregnant women should be considered in addition to providing free IFA tablets ANC contact with mothers.