Table 6.
Reasons for not taking iron and recall of action plans cited by pregnant women.
| Reasons for not taking IFA cited by the woman | Control baseline n = 66 | Control endline n = 22 | Intervention baseline n = 71 | Intervention endline n = 13 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | % | Frequency | % | Frequency | % | Frequency | % | |
| Didn’t have time to go to health facility | 14 | 21 | 11 | 50 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 38 |
| Last time I took iron tablets in pregnancy I got side effects | 2 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 31 |
| The woman ran out of iron tablets | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Doctor advised not to take IFA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| There was no problem so did not see the need for IFA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Went to parental home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Did not take IFA due to Ramadan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Planning to take later in pregnancy but it is not time to take them yet | 45 | 68 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| Health post ran out of IFA/did not provide IFA, or health worker unavailable | 3 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Not interested in taking iron tablets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Didn’t know the importance of (IFA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Recall of action plans by women in the intervention arm who could remember making an action plan | Recall of first virtual counseling n = 102 | Recall of second virtual counseling n = 96 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Following advice related to dietary and/or IFA intake: | Frequency | % | Frequency | % |
| Drinking adequate water | 86 | 84 | 81 | 84 |
| Getting ANC check-up | 80 | 78 | 79 | 82 |
| Regular consumption of IFA tablets | 71 | 70 | 76 | 79 |
| Importance of Vitamin C and consumption of iron-rich foods | 54 | 53 | 69 | 72 |
| Dealing with weakness during pregnancy | 23 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
| Dealing with gastritis (indigestion) during pregnancy | 25 | 25 | 23 | 24 |
| Dealing with loss of appetite during pregnancy | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| What to do when I dislike certain foods | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Reducing or stopping tea drinking | 13 | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| Eat larger servings and more often | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Taking lemon | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Soak pulses (Bengal gram) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Others (eat beetroot/pickles with meals/take sag and dairy) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Take calcium supplements/deworming | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Dealing with piles | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Actions related to other problems experienced by pregnant women | Frequency | % | Frequency | % |
| Dealing with back pain during pregnancy | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Leg cramps/pain during pregnancy | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| Avoid lifting/carrying heavy loads | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| Get an ultrasound | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
ANC, antenatal care; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; IFA, iron folic acid.