Compliance with Ifa Supplementation and its Barriers in Postpartum Women in Odisha, India

Abstract

Background: Anemia is the most common global health problem affecting about one-third of women of reproductive age in developing countries. Though anemia during pregnancy is addressed adequately, it is often neglected postpartum. The present study aims to find the compliance and barriers to IFA supplementation and its associates.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study among 312 postpartum women who met the inclusion criteria was interviewed to assess compliance and barriers to IFA supplementation.

Results: Only one-fifth (20.80%) of participants complied with IFA supplementation postpartum, though 56.8% were compliant while pregnant. The reason for noncompliance with IFA supplementation was not having been counseled (93.5%) by healthcare workers. Among the chief barriers, lack of counseling(93.5%), forgetfulness (23.6%), and bloating(30.8%)were reported. Other barriers to IFA supplementation were lack of awareness, sociocultural barriers, healthcare-related barriers, side effects, and misconceptions. Postnatal women aged 19-35 with obstetrical complications and maintained MCP cards were more likely to comply with IFA supplements.

Conclusion: Poor compliance with IFA reflects gross negligence of self-health care in the postpartum period, which can have long-term deleterious consequences on the mother's and her baby's health. Healthcare providers must provide quality education, screen and monitor for anemia, and follow up on IFA supplementation to address the barrier among postnatal women through various culturally acceptable, comprehensive, and context-specific strategies.

Note:
Funding declaration: No funds/grants were received.

Conflict of Interests: I, Dr. M V Smitha, on behalf of Indumati P, Saswati Parichha, Sandhiya Kullu, Sanchari Roy, Sapana Gurjar, and Sapna Meena declare that we have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper

Ethical Approval: Institute Ethics Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Register No: ECR/534/Inst/OD/2014/RR-20

Keywords: treatment adherence, anemia, lactating women, micronutrients, postpartum, Iron deficiency, puerperium, hemoglobin