Awareness of Preeclampsia among Antenatal Clinic Attendees in Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background Preeclampsia (PE) is among the five main causes of maternal mortality in low resource countries. This study was designed to assess PE awareness and its socioeconomic determinants among antenatal clinic attendees in northwestern Nigeria. Methods Two hundred twenty-one antenatal clinic attendees in northwestern Nigeria were selected through systematic random sampling for this quantitative study. Women who were 9 months pregnant and had consented to participate were included; those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus were excluded. Data on respondents' sociodemographic variables, and PE awareness were collected using a validated questionnaire. Associations between variables were tested using chi-square test and multiple regression analysis. Results Ninety-one percent of respondents were aged 20 to 40 years, 53.9% were multiparous, 27% had no or low level of formal education, and 52% had attended antenatal care (ANC) at least four times in the index pregnancy. Only 37% (N = 83) were aware of PE. Women with formal education were 3.8 times more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 3.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4–10.3) to be aware of PE compared with those with no formal education (p < 0.05). Also, women who experienced hypertension in their previous pregnancies were 2.8 times more likely (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.37–5.71) to be aware of PE than those women who had not (p < 0.05). Conclusion There was a low level of PE awareness among pregnant women in this study; being formally educated and having had hypertension in a previous pregnancy were positively associated with PE awareness. PE education should be part of ANC.