The Relationship Between Nutritional Status, Knowledge of Anemia, and Compliance with Iron Tablet Consumption and The Incidence of Anemia Among Pregnant Women at Puskesmas Piyungan

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 2019 that, globally, 37% (or 32 million) of pregnant women aged 15–49 years experienced anemia. In Bantul Regency, data from 2019 showed that 17.13% of pregnant women were affected by anemia. In 2020, out of 42,092 pregnant women, 13,985 were reported to have anemia during pregnancy. This study aims to examine the relationship between nutritional status, knowledge of anemia, and compliance with iron (Fe) tablet consumption and the incidence of anemia among pregnant women at Puskesmas (Community Health Center) Piyungan, Bantul. It employed quantitative method with cross-sectional approach. The study sample consisted of 62 participants, divided into 31 non-anemic and 31 anemic pregnant women. The results show that the majority of participants (38 respondents or 61.2%) were aged 26–30 years. Most had completed senior high school (SMA/SMK or equivalent) (47 respondents or 75.8%). Nearly half of the participants had two previous births (parity 2) (30 respondents or 48.4%). In addition, Chi-square analysis revealed significant relationships between nutritional status and anemia (p-value: 0.005), knowledge of anemia and anemia incidence (p-value: 0.002), and compliance with iron tablet consumption and anemia incidence (p-value: 0.005). In conclusion, nutritional status, knowledge of anemia, and compliance with iron tablet consumption are significantly associated with the incidence of anemia among pregnant women. Therefore, healthcare providers should enhance education and counseling on nutritional needs during pregnancy to help prevent anemia.