PDF, 1536K - Measure DHS

A mother’s nutritional status during pregnancy is important both for the child’s intrauterine
development and for protection against maternal morbidity and mortality. Night blindness is an
indicator of severe vitamin A deficiency, and pregnant women are especially prone to suffer from it.
Table 11.9 shows the intake of micronutrients and the occurrence of night blindness among mothers who
had a birth in the five years preceding the survey. Twelve percent of mothers received vitamin A after
a pregnancy and 18 percent of mothers suffered night blindness during pregnancy. Since some mothers
who report vision difficulties in the daytime as well as night blindness may not actually be suffering from
night blindness related to Vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy, this percentage can be adjusted to
exclude these women, to provide a more reasonable estimate of night blindness. The adjusted
percentage of women with night blindness is 5 percent. In addition, 29 percent of mothers who had a
birth in the five years preceding the survey live in households that use salt fortified with at least 25 ppm
of iodine. Mothers residing in the Affar, Oromiya, and SNNP regions are less likely to have received
vitamin A during the postpartum period, and mothers residing in the Tigray Region are most likely to
report night blindness.
Table 11.9 Micronutrient intake and night blindness among mothers
Percentage of women who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey, who received vitamin
A in the first two months after delivery, who suffered from night blindness during the pregnancy, and
who live in households using adequately iodized salt, by background characteristics, Ethiopia 2000
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Suffered
Living in
night blindness household
Received during pregnancy using
Background
vitamin A
______________________
adequately
characteristic postpartum Reported Adjusted 1 iodized salt 2 Number
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Mother's age at birth