Hemoglobin level, anemia, and obesity among pregnant women in Kigali, Rwanda: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Globally, there is an increasing trend of obesity in pregnant women, and Sub-Saharan Africa is not an exception. Recently, hemoglobin and anemia have received more attention as predictors of maternal obesity. No such study exists in Rwanda. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the factors associated with obesity, including hemoglobin and anemia, among pregnant women in Kigali, Rwanda.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in Kigali, Rwanda, from June to August 2024. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data. Weight, height, and hemoglobin were measured using standard procedures. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results: A total of 445 pregnant women were recruited. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age and parity were 30.0 (26.0‒35.0) years and 1 (0‒3), respectively. Of the 445 women, 143 (32.1%), 249 (56.0%), and 53 (11.9%) were of normal weight, overweight, and obese, respectively. One hundred and seven (24.0%) pregnant women had anemia. In multivariate multinomial regression, no significant association was found between age, parity, residency, education, maternal occupation, hemoglobin level, anemia, and overweight status. Being from rural areas (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16‒5.56) and being a housewife (AOR = 4.34, 95% 1.42‒13.26) were significantly associated with obesity. While an increase in hemoglobin level was associated with obesity (AOR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.02‒1.60), anemia was inversely negatively associated with obesity (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.12‒0.93).

Conclusion: This study indicates that 12% of the pregnant women in Rwanda were obese. Hemoglobin and anemia are associated with maternal obesity in Rwanda. There is a need for more efforts in nutritional programs targeting pregnant women to combat maternal obesity in Rwanda. Future research is recommended to explore the impact of maternal obesity on maternal and perinatal health.