Narathiwat province was purposively selected to be the study setting because the prevalence of maternal anemia and low birth weight are high. In addition, the people living in this area are culturally different from those of people in other regions of the country. Hospitals from
four districts, namely Ra-Ngae, Tak Bai, Su-Ngai Padi and Cho-Irong were chosen as the study hospitals. All pregnant women with a gestational age of 12 to 20 weeks, who had lived in Narathiwat province for at least one year prior to the study and had attended their first
antenatal visit in one of the study hospitals during January-December 2008, were included in the study. Highrisk pregnancies such as severe anemia of less than seven gm/dl, heart disease, AIDS, or any mental problems were criteria for exclusion.