Knowledge, attitude and current practices of pregnant women towards group B streptococcus screening: cross-sectional study, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

AimsGroup B streptococcus (GBS) is one of the most frequent bacterial pathogens causing invasive infections in neonates. It can be transmitted from colonised mother to neonates around delivery. Screening strategies for GBS during pregnancy include either universal culture-based or risk-based screening. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and current practices of pregnant women towards GBS screening in Al-Madinah City, Saudi Arabia.MethodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Madinah Maternity and Children Hospital, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, from May to July 2018. Participants were recruited from postnatal wards. Participants were interviewed using a previously published validated survey that was divided into the following domains: demographic data, knowledge, experience and attitude towards different GBS screening strategies.ResultsA total of 377 out of 450 women (response rate 83.7%) were enrolled. The results showed that the overall mean knowledge score of the pregnant women towards GBS screening was 59.8%. Majority of the women (66.8%) were not aware of the GBS bacterium, while 86.5% of them had never been informed of GBS risk assessment during their pregnancies. The mean knowledge score among women who were aware of GBS (62.8%) was significantly higher than that among women who were not (58.4%) (p=0.015). However, majority of the pregnant women (61.8%) showed preference for universal culture-based GBS screening strategy over risk-based strategy.ConclusionThe study results have concluded that the level of awareness and knowledge about GBS among pregnant women were relatively poor; however, majority of the pregnant women prefer universal culture-based screening.

Awareness of Pregnancy Screening for Group B Streptococcus Infection Among Women of Reproductive Age and Physicians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…The women's mean knowledge score was 50.7%, which was lower than that of the study conducted in Al Madinah (58.8%) [7]. The lower score might be because 86.6% of them had never been informed of GBS risks during pregnancy.…”

“…Another possible explanation for this lack of awareness is the large number of participants who had never had this infection (97.3%), which is a large number given the reported rate of GBS colonization (9.2%-27.6%) during the third trimester among pregnant women [15]. A comparison of the findings with those reported in studies conducted by Alshengeti et al and Youden et al confirmed a low level of GBS awareness among women [7,16]. In addition, only 7% of women have been requested to undergo GBS testing by their gynecologists, whereas 81.7% of pregnant women in Poland have been tested [17].…”

“…The women’s section assessed their obstetric history, knowledge, and awareness of GBS screening, previous exposure to GBS screening, and attitudes toward different GBS screening methods. This section was validated in a different study [ 7 ]. Both study groups were asked about their demographics at the beginning of the survey.…”

“…Furthermore, 14% of physicians cited fear of consequences as a barrier, and 16.9% reported other barriers [ 4 ]. A study conducted in Al-Madinah in 2018 that assessed pregnant women's knowledge, attitudes, and current practices related to antenatal GBS screening showed low levels of awareness and knowledge about GBS among them [ 7 ].…”

High Rates of Streptococcus Agalactiae Clindamycin and Erythromycin Resistance in Vietnamese Pregnant Women

“…Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of infection in maternal and neonatal in many countries in the world (15,16). The most important risk factor of the infectious disease in the neonatal in developing countries was maternal GBS colonization (17).…”