In a disaster pregnant women and children are at a higher risk than other population, because they have special physical and psychosocial needs which require continued care despite the community circumstances. Therefore, it is essential a presence of an experienced health worker, who is more aware of disaster planning and preparedness to serve the needs of the pregnant women and children. Objectives are to assess the knowledge, preparedness and associated factors of Public Health Midwives in 3 mostly affected MOH areas on maternal and child care during disasters. Methods: Between July to September 2016, all PHM in 3 MOH areas, (total of 78) were selected for the study to collect data by a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were surveyed of their personal information, information about their field, history of disasters occurred in their field, knowledge on maternal and child care in disasters, level of disaster preparedness and trainings received on disaster management. The knowledge and preparedness were analyzed in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: The study results revealed that only 47.3% of PHMs were having a good knowledge on maternal and child care during disasters and especially they need to improve the knowledge in natal care, new-born care and infant care. Relatively they had a good knowledge on antenatal care and child care. There was no significant association between the age, educational level, field experience, MOH area and facing of disasters in the past with the knowledge, which reflects that every one should have a good knowledge in disasters in spite of any circumstances. The preparedness for disasters among the study population was 33.8% and most of them didn't think of the possible disasters that can happen in their fields and didn't have a response plan. The level of preparedness was not significantly associated with other factors like age, educational level, field experience, MOH area or previous exposure to disasters. 58.1% of the participants were not learned about disaster management in any instance in their service period and 94.6% not participated in any training programme. Conclusion & Recommendation: The PHM in 3 MOH areas should be promoted to get further educational qualifications to upgrade their knowledge. They should be encouraged to gain more knowledge and preparedness on disasters by giving service appreciation and awards for that field.
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