Socio-Demographic, Obstetric, and Nutritional Profile of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Bosaso, Puntland, Somalia: A Facility-Based Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

<ns5:p> Background Anaemia in pregnancy, defined as a haemoglobin concentration below 11 g/dL, remains an important maternal and perinatal health problem. Descriptive evidence on the socio-demographic, obstetric, and nutritional profile of pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Puntland is limited. Objective To describe the socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric and reproductive history, and nutritional knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women attending ANC in Bosaso, Puntland, Somalia. Methods A facility-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 221 pregnant women attending ANC clinics in Bosaso. Participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected through a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire covering socio-demographic, obstetric/reproductive, and nutritional domains and analysed descriptively using IBM SPSS version 26. Results All 221 recruited women completed the interview. Most were aged 20–29 years (63.3%), married (87.8%), housewives (67.0%), and from households earning below USD 300 per month (78.3%); 42.5% had no formal education. Most participants were multigravida (61.1%) and multipara (52.5%), 48.0% reported a previous abortion, and 82.8% had attended ANC in a previous pregnancy. Nearly half (47.1%) were in the second trimester. Nutritional awareness was generally favourable: 63.8% recognised the benefits of iron-rich foods, 62.9% understood the importance of dietary diversity, 67.4% recognised the role of iron–folic acid supplementation, 67.0% acknowledged the effect of food insecurity, and 53.4% knew that tea consumed immediately after meals reduces iron absorption <ns5:bold>.</ns5:bold> Conclusion Pregnant women attending ANC in Bosaso had several socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics commonly associated with anaemia risk in other settings, alongside generally favourable nutritional knowledge. Because haemoglobin concentration and anaemia status were not measured, the findings are descriptive only. Further analytic research incorporating haemoglobin assessment is recommended. </ns5:p>