Background: Pregnancy is such a profound experience that has physiological and hormonal changes that prepare the mothers body to adjust and accommodate the growing fetus. These changes result into minor discomforts. Despite the fact that they are not life threating, they can be bothersome. Women use a number of self-care practices to alleviate these discomforts. Objective: To identify pregnant women's self-care practices for relieve of minor discomforts in Dodoma Region, Tanzania. Settings:The study was conducted in antenatal outpatient clinics of the 7 available health facilities that represent Dodoma Region. Subjects: A convenient sample of 380 pregnant women attending the selected settings according to the inclusion criteria. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection. The first tool was Women socio-demographic characteristics structured Interview schedule. The second tool was Knowledge of pregnant women regarding minor discomfort and its management structured interview schedule. The third tool was Women's self-care practices for relieve of minor discomfort of pregnancy structured interview schedule. Results: Findings of the present study revealed that the mean age of the mother was 27.98 ± 7.66. More than one half (55.3%) of the study subjects had poor knowledge. Approximately two third (65.5%) of pregnant women had unsatisfactory self-care practices for relieve of minor discomforts. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between knowledge and self-care practices regarding minor discomforts. Conclusion: The study concluded that most women had unsatisfactory selfcare practices for relieving minor discomforts. Recommendations: Implement awareness programs linked to minor discomforts and health care practices in primary health care services.
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