The Effect of Parity and Pregnancy Interval on the Incidence of Anemia among Pregnant Women at Kasarangan Community Health Center

Abstract

Gestational anemia remains a critical public health concern that elevates maternal and fetal risks. This study analyzed the effects of parity and pregnancy interval on the incidence of anemia among pregnant women at Kasarangan Community Health Center. Utilizing an analytical observational design with a cross-sectional approach, 43 pregnant women were recruited using a total sampling technique. Secondary data tracking parity, birth spacing, and laboratory anemia status were extracted from antenatal medical records and analyzed via descriptive statistics and Kendall's tau-b correlation modeling. The findings revealed a high baseline prevalence of anemia at 69.8%, while 30.2% of the respondents maintained normal hemoglobin levels. Regarding reproductive profiles, the entire cohort was uniformly multiparous (100.0%), and more than half maintained an extended inter-pregnancy interval exceeding five years (51.2%). Inferential statistical testing demonstrated a significant relationship between the pregnancy interval and the clinical incidence of gestational anemia (; ), indicating a weak-to-moderate positive correlation. Because the entire sample was multiparous, the independent effect of parity could not be statistically evaluated; however, the data clearly establishes that birth spacing duration operates as a critical reproductive variable shaping maternal hemoglobin trajectories. Short recovery windows leave mothers vulnerable to iron depletion. Consequently, optimizing primary healthcare outcomes requires strengthening reproductive health education, actively promoting appropriate family planning spacing, and intensifying routine prenatal nutritional monitoring to suppress maternal iron deficits.