Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation in Pregnancy: Findings from the Baseline Assessment of a Maternal Nutrition Service Programme in Bangladesh

Effective coverage of antenatal iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation is important to prevent adverse maternal and newborn health outcomes. We interviewed 2572 women from two rural districts in Bangladesh who had a live birth in the preceding six months. We analysed the number of IFA tablets received and consumed during pregnancy and examined the factors influencing IFA consumption by multiple linear regression and user adherence-adjusted effective coverage of IFA (consuming ≥180 IFA tablets) by Poisson regression. Overall, about 80% of women consumed IFA supplements in any quantity. About 76% of women received antenatal care at least once, only 8% received ≥180 IFA tablets, and 6% had user adherence-adjusted coverage of antenatal IFA supplementation. Multivariable analysis showed a linear relationship…