A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF PREGNANT WOMEN REGARDING ANTENATAL CARE IN VIEW TO DEVELOP AN INFORMATIONAL BOOKLET

Preeti Maria Menezes

Volume : VIII, Issue : IV, April - 2019

A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF PREGNANT WOMEN REGARDING ANTENATAL CARE IN VIEW TO DEVELOP AN INFORMATIONAL BOOKLET

Preeti Maria Menezes

Abstract :

Background: Appropriate antenatal care is one of the pillars of Safe Motherhood Initiatives, a worldwide effort launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other collaborating agencies in 1987 aimed to reduce the number of deaths associated with pregnancy and childbirth. It highlights the care of antenatal mothers as an important element in maternal healthcare as appropriate care will lead to successful pregnancy outcome and healthy babies. All pregnant ladies are recommended to go for their first antenatal check–up in the first trimester to identify and manage any medical complication as well as to screen them for any risk factors that may affect the progress and outcome of their pregnancy. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the level of knowledge in Antenatal care and develop informational booklet. Methods: Design used was Descriptive, Baseline data from 47 antenatal mothers was collected through self structured questionnaire. Result: Majority of the women 39 (83%) had adequate knowledge for antenatal care followed by 8 (17%) had moderate knowledge. The mean knowledge in category 1(31.8) is lower than category 2 (43) and category 3 (41). Hence it suggests the mothers inadequate knowledge regarding the management of minor ailments & Physiological changes in pregnancy as compared to care during pregnancy and fetal well being. The computed value p = 0.025 is lower than the table value 5.99 at level of significance (p=0.05), hence there is a significant association between knowledge and Educational status of antenatal mothers. Conclusion: The study findings showed inadequate knowledge among mothers, Hence the booklet �Healthy Mother, Healthy baby� was developed with more emphasis on the deficient category of knowledge along with care during pregnancy and fetal well being & distributed among mothers.