Compliance of iron and folic acid supplementation and status of anaemia during pregnancy in the Eastern Terai of Nepal: findings from hospital based cross sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to assess local data for compliance with IFA supplementation and prevalence of anaemia among the pregnant mothers visiting government health facilities of eastern Nepal. RESULTS: In our study samples, IFA compliance rate was 58% during pregnancy and 42% were anaemic. Anemia was 24 times more likely to occur in IFA noncompliant women during pregnancy than their counterparts (aOR = 24.2, 95% CI 10.1-58.3), and anemia was three times less likely to be found in those taking foods rich in heme-iron than their counterparts (aOR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-8.1).