Factors associated with the knowledge of obstetric danger signs among pregnant women attending primary health care antenatal care clinics in Abha city

Ayoub Ali Alshaikh; Ahmed Shubayli Assiri; Fatima Riaz; Saleh Ahmed Alshaikhi; Abdullah Ali Alarrafi; Rishi K Bharti; Syed Esam Mahmood; Shehata Farag

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_425_23

Factors associated with the knowledge of obstetric danger signs among pregnant women attending primary health care antenatal care clinics in Abha city

J Family Med Prim Care. 2023 Nov;12(11):2855-2862. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_425_23. Epub 2023 Nov 21.

Authors

Ayoub Ali Alshaikh¹, Ahmed Shubayli Assiri², Fatima Riaz¹, Saleh Ahmed Alshaikhi², Abdullah Ali Alarrafi², Rishi K Bharti¹, Syed Esam Mahmood¹, Shehata Farag¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
² Family Medicine, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Introduction: Knowledge of obstetric danger signs would equip women to make the right decisions and appropriate actions timely to have better health care assistance which will impose a significant impact on maternal mortality and morbidity. Hence, this study aimed to know the factors associated with the knowledge of obstetric danger signs among pregnant women who attend the primary health care clinics, which is considered as the first gate to seek health care for pregnant women during antenatal checkups.

Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 400 pregnant women selected by simple random sampling technique who were attending antenatal clinics at primary health care centers at Abha City by using an interview-based questionnaire.cores of <50%, 50-75%, and >75% were considered to be poor, intermediate, and good scores. Frequencies and percentages were used for descriptive variables, whereas for association, tests of significance (Chi square, t-test, and F-test) were applied.

Results: Almost 70.8% of participants received health information on obstetric danger signs. The main sources of information were the Internet (23%), family, relatives or friends (17%), and health care providers. The highest participants' correct responses regarding obstetric danger signs were related to severe vaginal bleeding (93.5%), convulsions (76.8%), and decreased fetal movements (76.5%). Proportions of participants with poor knowledge showed an inverse and significant increase with their educational levels (P < 0.001). The highest percentage of poor knowledge grade was observed among participants with no children (54.6%). Participants who received previous information on danger signs had significantly better knowledge grades than those who have not received previous information (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Women's knowledge was suboptimal regarding obstetric danger signs. 30% of women did not receive information about danger signs. Health education provided on obstetric danger signs to pregnant women should be enforced to those who are illiterate, are unemployed, have a low family income, and are with no or less previous pregnancies.

Keywords: Awareness; obstetrics danger signs; pregnancy.