Knowledge of danger sign of pregnancy and associated factors among pregnant women in Arbaminch town public health institutions, Southern Ethiopia, 2015

Abstract

Background: Raising knowledge of women on danger signs of pregnancy is crucial for safe motherhood. In Ethiopia maternal morbidity and mortality is high, little is known about knowledge level of pregnant women on obstetric danger signs. Objective: To assess the knowledge about danger sign of pregnancy and associated factors among pregnant women in Arbaminch town public health institutions, Southern Ethiopia, 2015. Methods: Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted from February to March 2015, on the sample of 355 pregnant women. A structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio demographic, obstetric characteristics and knowledge about danger signs of pregnancy. Epi Info version 3.3.2 and SPSS version 16.0 was used for both data entry and analysis. Results: From those who participated in this study 189(53.2%), 95% CI: (48% - 58.4%) were knowledgeable. government employed (AOR= 2.77, 95% CI: 1.16-6.65, P-0.022), educational level of grade 9-10 (AOR= 5.13, 95% CI: 2.13-12.37, P-0.001), having attended diploma and above (AOR= 8.94, 95% CI: 3.39-23.54, P- 0.001) and those who had previous pregnancy ANC follow up (AOR= 15.72, 95% CI: 3.18-77.63, P-0.001) were found to be strongly significantly associated with knowledge of danger signs of pregnancy. Conclusion: This study revealed that the knowledge level of pregnant women about danger signs of pregnancy in the study area was lower than the national target . And their knowledge was affected by occupation; educational level and ANC follow up. Therefore, the MOH, regional health bureau, zonal health department, Woreda health office as well as other partner organizations that are working in areas of reproductive health should design appropriate health education strategies including provision of targeted information, education and communication to pregnant mothers to increase their awareness and thus enable early recognition of serious health problems during pregnancy.