Knowledge and Practices Regarding Self-Management of Minor Ailments among Pregnant Mothers

Abstract

Background: During pregnancy, mother faces many minor discomforts due to physiological, anatomical, psychological, biochemical and immunological adaptations occurs in their body. The wellbeing of pregnant mothers is threatened due to these minor discomforts and lead to unnecessary hospitalization. This study was aimed to assess the knowledge and practices regarding self-management of minor discomforts among pregnant mothers attending to selected Antenatal Clinics (ANC), Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area, Batticaloa. Subjects and Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in selected antenatal clinics among all registered antenatal mothers (n=238) attending to these ANCs. A validated and pretested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Knowledge on self-management of minor disorders was dependent variable and independent variables were the sociodemographic status, economic status and obstetric details of pregnant mothers. Descriptive and inferential statistic was performed to analyze the relevant data. Results: Nearly half of the participants (54.6%) were in 20-29 years and 62% of them were primiparous mothers. Around 93% of them were experienced nausea and vomiting during their pregnancy and among them all were reported nausea and vomiting has been occurred during their 1st trimester. About 75% of them mentioned that home remedies are the best way to selfmanage the minor discomforts. The mean knowledge score on minor discomforts and selfmanagement was 12.16 (SD= 14.64). Majority of participants (94.1%) scored less than 50%. Knowledge score was significantly associated with participant's ethnicity, religion, monthly income, educational level and their parity. Conclusion:The prevalence of minor discomforts among pregnant mothers was high and pregnant mothers have expressed that minor discomforts can be managed with home remedies. Further, knowledge level regarding minor discomforts and their self-management was inadequate.

Incidence of minor ailments of pregnancy among antenatal mothers visiting the out-patient department of a secondary care centre

“…Teenage pregnancies and pregnancy in women older than 40 years of age is high risk pregnancy, since women have an age window when it is easier for their bodies to bear the strain of pregnancy and child birth. All most all mothers had nausea and vomiting (94.2%) which is similar to the study by Samarakoon SKSN et al [11] . 84% women experienced urinary frequency which is considerable higher than other studies, it may be because of less hygienic practices in rural areas leading to increased chances of urinary tract infections.…”

Awareness On Minor Disorders Of Pregnancy Among Pregnant Women Of A Hospital

“…In the present study, the awareness level had significant association with type of family (p = 0.017).The finding is consistent with the findings of similar study done in India where there was significant association between level of awareness of pregnant women and type of family 6 .This finding contradicts to the study conducted in Sri Lanka where the knowledge level had significant association with religion (p <0.001), ethnicity (p=0.013), monthly income (p <0.001) and educational level (p <0.001) 2 .…”

“…1 Anatomical, physiological, hormonal adaptation to pregnancy leads to common physical symptoms which are known as minor disorders of pregnancy. 2 Minor disorders of pregnancy affecting day to day life has a major effect on productivity and have profound impact on quality of life of pregnant women which may later affect outcomes of pregnancy. 3 About 70% of women report one or more minor disorders throughout whole period of pregnancy.…”

E-Book as Educational Media ‘Aku dan Kehamilan Sehat-Ku’ : Narrative Review

“…This student (PKM) showed several relevant research articles about the knowledge, attitudes or responses of pregnant women and their families in dealing with pregnancy discomforts. The level of knowledge of pregnant women were significantly related to ethnicity, religion, monthly income, education level and participant participation (Samara et al, 2020) Other research on the relationship of knowledge and attitudes in pregnancy are written in the study (Fitriani et al, 2019), the first pregnant woman who had good knowledge experienced mild anxiety and knew that her pregnancy is a gift, she carried out regular pregnancy checks to keep healthy and avoid complications. Furthermore, pregnant women with first pregnancies who had a history of severe anxiety and good knowledge and checked their pregnancy regularly still felt anxiety because they have never seen their family and friends experiencing the same thing with them.…”