Qatr Al Nada Al-Sabhani¹, Faris Lami¹* and Sevil Hakimi²

¹College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq
²Tabriz University of Medical Science, Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

*Corresponding Author: Faris Lami, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq.

Received: August 03, 2023; Published: December 08, 2023

Abstract

Background: According to the World Health Organization, 287,000 women die yearly from pregnancy and delivery problems; 99% are in developing countries. Early identification of obstetric danger signs by the mother can result in earlier identification of obstetric emergencies and, thus, reduced maternal morbidities. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness of obstetric danger signs and the factors affecting this awareness among pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in Anbar province, Iraq.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data was collected using a questionnaire filled through direct interviews with the women. It consists of three parts: sociodemographic data, obstetric data, and obstetric danger signs. A woman was considered to have a good awareness of the main danger signs of pregnancy if she could mention at least two of the ten main danger signs of pregnancy spontaneously.

Results: The study included 352 pregnant women; about 80% (281) of the studied sample showed “Good” awareness of the main danger signs of pregnancy. The factors affecting awareness of obstetrical danger signs were educational status (P=0.001), monthly income (P=0.028), parity (P=0.032), and gravidity (P=0.015). Among danger signs of pregnancy, blurred vision and convulsion were the least identified.

Conclusion: Some pregnant women were unaware of obstetric danger signs. This can make them delayed in seeking care. Education of pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics on these danger signs should be standard practice.

Keywords: Pregnant Women; Awareness; Obstetric Danger Signs; Iraq

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Citation

Citation: Faris Lami., et al. “Knowledge of Pregnant Women About Obstetric Danger Signs of Pregnancy: Experience of a Maternity Hospital in Iraq".Acta Scientific Women's Health 6.1 (2024): 07-13.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Faris Lami., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.