Effectiveness of a nutritional education intervention on anemia in pregnant women at the first level of care

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on factors associated
with anemia in pregnant women at the first level of care. Methodology: The research
corresponds to the applied, quasi-experimental type, which seeks to evaluate
the impact of an educational intervention with follow-up in subsequent prenatal
controls on the use of iron-rich foods, complementary to routine iron and folic acid
supplementation. The variation in the consumption of iron-rich foods, hemoglobin
level and anemia in pregnant women attended at P.S Gerardo González Villegas I-2
Tumbes, 2022 was evaluated prospectively. An experimental cohort of a sample of
200 cases and 100 controls was prospectively studied. Results: Before the educational
intervention, there was similarity in age (14-42 years) and in urban and rural origin
in pregnant women of cases and controls. With the educational intervention it was
possible to improve the consumption of foods rich in iron in pregnant women,
increase the level of hemoglobin and significantly decrease the incidence of anemia
with an efficacy of 61.7% in the population of controls and cases non-intervened and
92.5% only in the population of intervened cases; also, the prevalence of anemia
(p<0.05). Conclusions: The impact of the educational intervention developed was
positive, because it managed to increase the cognitive level and practices of pregnant
women for the prevention of anemia during pregnancy, evidencing changes in
eating behavior, improving their nutrition and hemoglobin level, and significantly
preventing anemia.