Knowledge about Danger Signs of Obstetric Complications and Associated Factors among Postnatal Mothers of Mechekel District Health Centers, East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014

Abstract

Background. Developing countries like Ethiopia contributed highest level of maternal mortality due to obstetric complications. Women awareness of obstetric danger sign to recognize complications to seek medical care early is the first intervention in an effort to decrease maternal death. Objective. To assess knowledge about danger signs of obstetric complications and associated factors among postnatal mothers at Mechekel district health centers, East Gojjam zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014. Methods. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from August to October, 2014, in Mechekel district health centers. Systematic random sampling was used to select four hundred eleven study participants. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered to Epi Info version 3.5.3 and exported to SPSS 20.0 for further analysis. Descriptive and summary statistics were done. Logistic regression analyses were used to see the association of different variables. Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were computed to determine the presence and strength of association. Results. According to this study, 55.1% participants were knowledgeable about danger signs of obstetric complications. Maternal and husband educational level ((AOR = 1.977, 95% CI: 1.052, 3.716) and (AOR = 3.163, 95% CI: 1.860, 5.3770), resp.), family monthly income ≥ 1500 (AOR = 2.954, 95% CI: 1.289, 6.770), being multipara (AOR = 7.463, 95% CI: 1.301, 12.800), ANC follow-up during last pregnancy (AOR = 2.184, 95% CI: 1.137, 4.196), and place of last delivery (AOR = 1.955, 95% CI: 1.214, 3.150) were variables found to be significantly associated with women's knowledge on danger signs of obstetric complications. Conclusion. Significant proportion of respondents were not knowledgeable about obstetric danger signs and factors like educational status, place of last delivery, and antenatal follow-up were found to be associated.

Effect of a participatory multisectoral maternal and newborn intervention on birth preparedness and knowledge of maternal and newborn danger signs among women in Eastern Uganda: a quasi-experiment study

“…This is consistent with other studies done in low-income countries [11,12]. This is because educated women can easily understand health messages from different sources [11,12,28].…”

“…Hence, birth preparedness interventions help to address key bottlenecks to delays in deciding to seek care and reaching the place of care [6–9]. Comprehensive birth preparedness therefore enhances the ability of women, their partners, and families to engage in safe motherhood initiatives [10,12,13]. …”

Awareness of danger signs in pregnancy and post-partum period among antenatal mothers admitted to General Hospital Matara

“…Existing literature provides contrasting evidence regarding urban-rural disparity of knowledge. Results comparable to the present study were observed in some settings, 14 whereas in other settings a significantly higher knowledge of danger signs was observed among urban population. 8,9 This difference could be partially explained by the marked discrepancy of the accessibility of health care and availability of other facilities such as electronic media between different sectors in those countries.…”

“…Moreover, Public Health Midwives' services are freely available and accessible to all clients irrespective of income level, which may explain why income was not associated with level of awareness, though this finding is not in line with other research evidence. 7,14 Also, in consistence with previous studies conducted in Ethiopia, Malaysia and Nigeria, a good level of awareness on danger signs was significantly associated with higher educational levels of both pregnant mother and her husband and employment status of the pregnant mother. 7,9,11,13,14 As these variables are somewhat interconnected, the observed associations could be due to potential confounding effect mediated through high maternal health literacy.…”

“…8,9,14,15 However, they were not considered as variables in this study as both parameters show a nearly universal coverage in Sri Lanka. 3 Since this was an institution-based study, conducted among a convenient sample of pregnant mothers admitted in a government health facility, generalizability of the findings could be a potential limitation.…”