Survey of women's perceptions of information provided in the prevention or treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in an Australian tertiary obstetric hospital.

BACKGROUND: There is limited literature to understand the perceptions of Australian women regarding the information provided by healthcare professionals relating to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy.

AIM: To establish an insight into the key themes and trends within a tertiary obstetric hospital related to the provision of dietary advice and use of iron supplements in pregnancy.

METHODS: A prospective patient survey of pregnant women and women up to 4 weeks postnatal attending hospital.

FINDINGS: Of the 110 women who participated, 73.6% were provided with information on iron rich foods and 67% made dietary changes. Eighty percent of women were advised to take oral iron and 65.5% of women were taking it at the time of the survey. In women who had independently ceased oral iron, 41.7% failed to inform their healthcare professional. In the women who did inform their healthcare professional 89.5% received advice to help overcome the reason that led to cessation. The main causes included forgetfulness and side effects. Women were less likely to require intravenous iron if oral iron was commenced early.

CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with recommended oral iron is variable within a population of pregnant women. Women are provided with information on a range of issues relating to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anaemia; yet there is a disparity between the information provided and the resulting action. Further research should focus on targeted measures to improve understanding and compliance with treatment from the both women's and health professionals perspective.