[Healthcare and gestational factors associated with anemia in nursing mothers attended in a human milk bank].

Anemia is a public health problem that affects about 30% of Brazilian women, which may cause deleterious effects on the health and quality of life of mother and child. This article seeks to evaluate the healthcare and gestational factors associated with anemia among mothers receiving care at a human milk bank (HMB) of reference. It is a cross-sectional study with secondary data about sociodemographic and pregnancy information on 12283 nursing mothers from 2009 to 2012. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were applied. The prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated by Poisson regression with robust variance. Anemia was identified in 29.2% of the sample and the prevalence was higher among mothers who did not have prenatal appointments (PR = 3.84; 95% CI 3.26 to 4.54); those who made 3 or less antenatal visits (PR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.21 to 3.06) and those who have had multiple pregnancies (OR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.25 to 4.19). The results showed a higher prevalence of anemia among women who did not have the appropriate prenatal care and who have had multiple pregnancies, highlighting the importance of healthcare as a factor in the prevention of anemia and other complications during pregnancy.