• P Mithra, B Unnikrishnan, T Rekha, K Nithin, K Mohan, V Kulkarni, and D Agarwal.
• Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College (Manipal University), Mangalore, India.
• Afr Health Sci. 2013 Dec 1; 13 (4): 880885880-5.

BackgroundAnaemia is highly prevalent among pregnant women and iron deficiency is the most important cause. Like many other countries, India has policies to give pregnant women iron supplements. Non-compliance is one important challenging factor in combating anaemia.ObjectiveTo estimate the compliance for IFA tablets among pregnant women and to study the social factors influencing it.MethodologyThis study included 190 pregnant women seeking ante-natal care in tertiary health centres in the Mangalore city in south India. After Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) approval, data was collected by personal interview. Missing >2 doses consecutively was considered non-compliance. The data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 11.5.ResultsThe mean age of the study population was 25.8 years (SD: 4.1). Most of the subjects consumed mixed diet and 72.1% belonged to lower socioeconomic status. Overall, compliance with IFA tablets was 64.7%. Compliance increased with the increase in age, birth order and single daily dose. Forgetfulness and both perceived as well as experienced side effects of IFA therapy were the important factors for non-compliance.ConclusionThere was a moderate level of compliance towards IFA tablets with key social and demographic factors playing an important role.

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