Evaluation of Pregnant women's Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Anemia During Pregnancy and Associated Factors in Prenatal Care Centers in Ibb City, Yemen

Background: Despite effective treatments for maternal anemia, poor implementation and adherence persist. A gap persists between available anemia treatments and their practical implementation and adherence. Objective: This study aims to evaluate of Pregnant women's Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Anemia During Pregnancy and Associated Factors in Prenatal Care Centers in Ibb City, Yemen. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in healthcare centers in Ibb City. The study involved a sample size of 384 pregnant women, Convenient Sampling. Data was collected via a structured questionnaire. Results: The majority were between 18-26 y of age (56.0%), had a secondary education (39.3%), and had a medium income level (52.3%). A significant portion of the participants (57.0%) were chewing Qat. Regarding their health and pregnancy history, the majority of the pregnant women were not suffering from any chronic diseases (90.9%), had not been previously diagnosed with anemia (71.1%), and were not taking any regular medications (87.8%). Additionally, most participants reported no complications in their previous pregnancies (77.3%), were multigravida (70.6%), and received regular antenatal care (74.7%). The largest proportion of participants (40.1%) were in their third trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, a significant number of participants (78.4%) had undergone a hemoglobin test during their current pregnancy, and the highest percentage of participants (43.2%) had visited the antenatal care unit more than four times. The mean knowledge score was 9.5 with a SD of 1.79 The mean attitude score was 34.75 with a SD of 2.03. The mean practice score was 36. 97 with a SD of 5.1 6. significant, moderate positive correlation was found between knowledge and attitudes (r = .33, p = .0001), significant, weak positive correlation was identified between attitudes and practices (r = .205, p = .0001). no statistically significant correlation was observed between knowledge and practices (r = .034, p = .505). Lower monthly income (p=0.001), not chewing Qat (p=0.007), a prior anemia diagnosis (p=0.0001), the presence of complications (p=0.0001), and being in the third trimester (p=0.036) were significantly associated with higher knowledge scores. No variables reached the standard significance threshold (p<0.05). Higher education level (p=0.0001), higher income (p=0.0001), attending antenatal care (p=0.0001), being multigravida (p=0.0001), having a hemoglobin test (p=0.002), a later stage of pregnancy (p=0.041), more antenatal visits (p=0.0001), and younger age (p=0.018) were all significantly associated with better practice scores Predictive factors For knowledge, a prior anemia diagnosis (B=-0.542, 95% CI: -0.912 to -0.190, p=0.004) and complications (B=-0.729, 95% CI: -1.108 to -0.307, p=0.001) were negative predictors, while Qat chewing (B=0.493, 95% CI: 0.129 to 0.827, p=0.008) and later pregnancy stage (B=0.269, 95% CI: 0.064 to 0.482, p=0.010) were positive predictors. For practice, higher education (B=0.937, 95% CI: 0.476 to 1.365, p=0.001), income (B=0.817, 95% CI: 0.169 to 1.547, p=0.017), and previous ANC visits (B=1.406, 95% CI: 0.683 to 2.145, p=0.002) were positive predictors, while current ANC attendance (B=-2.004, 95% CI: -3.297 to -0.734, p=0.002) and higher gravidity (B=-1.692, 95% CI: -2.959 to -0.598, p=0.009) were negative predictors. Conclusion: Despite good knowledge and positive attitudes toward anemia among pregnant women in Ibb City, these do not consistently translate into adequate practices. Education, income, qat chewing, and especially regular antenatal care visits were key determinants influencing anemia-related practices.