nutrients Article Factors Influencing the Compliance of Pregnant Women with Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation in the Philippines: 2017 Philippine Demographic and Health Survey Analysis Eva Belingon Felipe-Dimog 1,2 , Chia-Hung Yu 3, Chung-Han Ho 4 and Fu-Wen Liang 1,5,* 1 Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, No. 100, Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan;
[email protected] 2 Department of Nursing, Mountain Province State Polytechnic College, Bontoc 2616, Mountain Province, Philippines 3 Department of Anesthesiology, Chi Mei Medical Center, No 901, Zhonghua Road, Yongkang District, Tainan City 710, Taiwan;
[email protected] 4 Department of Medical Research, Chi Mei Medical Center, No 901, Zhonghua Road, Yongkang District, Tainan City 710, Taiwan;
[email protected] 5 Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No.100, Tzyou 1st Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +886-7-312-1101 (ext. 2786) Abstract: Anemia in pregnancy, which is a public health concern for most developing countries, is predominantly caused by iron deficiency. At least, 180 days of iron and folic acid (IFA) supple- mentation is recommended for pregnant women to mitigate anemia and its adverse effects. This study aimed to examine compliance with the recommendation of IFA supplementation and its Citation: Felipe-Dimog, E.B.; underlying factors using the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey data. The Yu, C.-H.; Ho, C.-H.; Liang, F.-W. variables assessed included age, highest level of education, occupation, wealth index, ethnicity, Factors Influencing the Compliance religion, residence, number of pregnancies, time of first antenatal care (ANC) visit and number of of Pregnant Women with Iron and ANC visits.