Preconception Care: Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pregnant Women, Tamale West Hospital

Abstract

Purpose: The aim was to assess the awareness, attitude, knowledge level and practice of pregnant women on preconception care at the Tamale West Hospital Antenatal clinic in the Northern region of Ghana.Methodology: This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach. A quota sampling procedure was used to arrive at 200 participants. The starting point was randomly selected and a systematic random sampling method was used to select the study participants. Simple random sampling using the lottery approach was used to select the participants for the study. The target population was women (literate and illiterate) within the age range of 16 and 40 years attending the Tamale West Hospital for antenatal care. The list of all the women who fell within the target population was obtained from the register of the unit. The inclusion criteria were pregnant women who visited the Tamale West Hospital within a month’s duration for antenatal care services. A semi-structured questionnaire which had both open-ended and close-ended questions was used to generate the data. Descriptive statistics which involves frequencies and percentages was used to represent both independent and dependent variables of the study. Close-ended responses were inputted using the Microsoft Office Excel 2016. Open-ended responses were compiled in relation to the objectives of the study. Other relevant outcomes were cross-tabulated using SPSS version 21.Results: Though 20.0% of the pregnant women had positive attitude towards preconception care, only 34.5% were aware of preconception care and 42.5% and 23.5% had poor and high knowledge levels on preconception care respectively. When the age group was cross-tabulated with awareness, the results showed no statistical significance between the two variables (χ2=9.1; p=0.58). However, there was an association between the educational status (Tertiary level) (χ2=49.6; p=0.01) and religious affiliation (Muslim) (χ2=43.3; p=0.01) of the respondents on awareness. Educational status (Tertiary level) (χ2=45.4; p=0.01) and religion (χ2=21.3; p=0.01) were found to influence knowledge statistically. In terms of overall attitude, only Muslim (χ2=4.12; p=0.04) statistically impacted on the study.Conclusion: Pregnant women who attend Antenatal clinic at Tamale West Hospital tended to have low level of awareness and poor knowledge, they have negative attitude towards preconception care services and seldom practice preconception care. There is the need for health care authorities to intensify awareness and implement preconception care policies.Recommendation: The present study demonstrated that there was a need to create awareness which can also increase the knowledge and practices of reproductive age women or couples. Hence, there is the need for health authorities to put together comprehensive preconception care policies for health institutions to abide by.

Mothers’ utilization and associated factors of preconception care in Africa, a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Most studies were conducted in Ethiopia. Among the included studies, utilization of preconception care among mothers were ranged from 2.5 [40] to 86.8 [31] (Table 1).…”

Preconception Care in Sub Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on Prevalence and Its Correlation With Knowledge Level Among Women in Reproductive Age Group

“…Studies reporting the highest preconception care utilisation and highest good knowledge level about preconception care,72.6% and 70.7%, were conducted in Kenya and Nigeria, respectively (10,13). Thirteen studies were from Eastern Africa (12,(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32), seven from Western Africa (10,20,21,(33)(34)(35)(36) and there were no studies from Southern Africa. Based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional studies quality assessment tool, the score ranged from medium (7) to highest (9).…”

Delivery of Preconception Counselling Services: The Snags of Health Care Service Providers.

“…Preconception counselling refers to the health counselling received by women of child bearing age before conception. The prevalence of maternal mortality and complications associated with pregnancy and child birth makes preconception counselling an essential service which requires critical attention (Boakye-Yiadom et al, 2020). A study has shown that, before most women of child bearing age seek for health counselling then they suspect or have realised that they are pregnant (Stern, 2015).…”

“…A study conducted by Boakye-Yiadom et al (2020) in the northern region of Ghana revealed that, pregnant women who attend Antenatal clinic are not aware of the preconception counselling and appear to have negative attitude towards preconception care services and rarely practice preconception care. The further revealed that, the women perceive preconception counselling as alien to their culture making reference to the practices of their forefathers where issues of pregnancy and sex are kept sacred until a woman gets married experience it herself as the best and more dignifying practice.…”

“…Studies have revealed that most women of childbearing age depend on the information gathered from their mothers and elderly women in their society on pregnancy and its related issues therefore seeking professional counselling before conception appear to be a waste of time and resources (Boakye-Yiadom et al, 2020;Coonrod, et al, 2009). This confirms a study conducted by Krishnan, Joseph and Maheswari (2016) at rural area of Kerala state in India on preconception care among adolescent girls which revealed that 96.7% of adolescent girl (girls of Childbearing age) had unfavorable attitude towards preconception counselling and health care.…”