Folic acid knowledge and awareness in a sample of pregnant women in Erbil city

Abstract

Background and objective: Folic acid is one of the essential vitamins for women of childbearing ages, and its deficiency is the second leading cause of anemia worldwide after iron deficiency. The purpose of the study was to find out the factors associated with supplemental folic acid knowledge of pregnant women visiting primary health care centers in Erbil city. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and involved all the twenty-three primary health care centers in Erbil city. The data collection period was from 1st September 2021 to 1st March 2022. A convenience sample of 727 pregnant women visited primary health care centers in the Erbil city were collected through face-to face interviews by using a pre-designed questionnaire format. Results: The study found that pregnant women had poor knowledge about using folic acid during pregnancy. There was a highly significant (P <0.001) positive association between the knowledge of pregnant women about folic acid and the increasing socio-economic class level, older age groups, a greater number of pregnancies, more birth spacing, and the absence of anemia, abortion and existence of congenital malformation during the previous pregnancies. Conclusion: The majority of pregnant women have limited awareness about benefits of folic acid, especially among low socio-economic classes.

Keywords

• folic acid
• supplement
• knowledge
• pregnant women