Assesment of Knowledge,Attitude and Practice of Pregnant Women Regarding Iron,Folic Acid and Multivitamins at AlMonshah District.

Anaemia is defined as the lack of functioning red blood cells (RBCs) that leads to a decrease in the ability to carry oxygen causing a lot of complications during life time.

Iron deficiency anaemia is a main public health problem in all countries. Over 30% of the world's population had anaemia; 4.3%-20% and 30%-48% respectively in developed and developing countries are affected by iron deficiency anaemia. Globally, it is estimated that roughly 38% of pregnant females, 29% non-pregnant women, and 29% of all females of reproductive age are diagnosed to have anaemia .

WHO suggested a standard daily dose of 30 to 60 mg of iron and 400 µg of folic acid supplements to prevent anaemia in pregnancy. This dose of iron and folic acid should be taken ideally before gestation with the earliest possible time and must be continued throughout the gestational period.

During pregnancy it is important to take adequate nutrition which is essential for optimal growth of the foetus and decrease in the incidence of congenital anomalies. adequate dietary intake of proteins and energy is not enough for normal weight of the new-born, decrease in vitamins and minerals can adversely affect the weight of the new- born .

The prevalence of neural tube defects, low-birth weights, small babies for gestational age and maternal anaemia can be reduced by adequate intake of iron and folic acid supplements during pregnancy. A lot of studies show the same positive results for the intake of multivitamins ,but iron and folic acid are the most important .

A lot of studies show the importance of the relationship between iron and folic acid supplement or multivitamins intake and the socio-economic factors as age, level of education, residence, marital status, parity, economic status, prenatal circumstances. There are association between more intake of supplements during pregnancy and a higher socioeconomic levels , level of education and use of prenatal medical services in studies conducted in Finland . The detection of anaemia in pregnancy is based on the examination of haemoglobin (Hb) levels at the first antenatal care visit.

If the haemoglobin level is <11.9%, the pregnant woman is declared anaemic and should be given supplements of 60 mg iron tablets and 0.5 mg folic acid. This supplement is taken regularly 1 tablet per day for 90 consecutive days. If the haemoglobin level is still <11.9%, then the administration of iron tablets is continued. However, in practice, not all pregnant women take tablets regularly. This could be due to inadequate knowledge about the importance of iron tablets for pregnancy.