Awareness of Preeclampsia and its associated issues among the pregnant women of Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Almost 70,000 to 76,000 pregnant women die annually from PE and hypertensive related disorders. These maternal deaths could be prevented, control and managed by gaining the adequate knowledge about the disorder. The current study determines the level of knowledge about PE and evaluate the factors associated with the knowledge adequacy among pregnant women receiving prenatal treatment at the Koohi Goth Hospital, Karachi-Pakistan.

Objective: This interventional study is designed to determine the levels of understanding and knowledge about menstrual hygiene management. Along with this we aim to evaluate the impact of health education on menstrual hygienic practices.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Koohi Goth Hospital, Karachi-Pakistan, with a sample size of 100. Pregnant women without any severe clinical conditions were included in the study after taking verbal consent. An investigator-administered validated well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data regarding the knowledge and information about PE from the recruited participants. Questionnaire consist series of questions regarding sign and symptoms, complications, risk factors and awareness of PE. Data was presented in frequency and percentage and then the knowledge of PE in pregnant women was then stratified into adequate and inadequate knowledge.

Results: A total of 100 pregnant women with mean age of 23.8 years and gestational age of 19.8 weeks were included in this study. on based of the knowledge and awareness regarding PE, it is determined that 65% of the participants does not have knowledge of PE, while 23% know nothing about it. Only 13% of the study participants have knowledge of PE. It is also seen that majority of the pregnant women (34%) have no education, while 33% and 28% only receive primary and secondary education respectively. Only 5% of the study population have high secondary level of education. Association among level of education and knowledge about PE is also seen.

Conclusion: It is concluded that knowledge and awareness regarding preeclampsia is very low among pregnant women at Koohi Goth Hospital, Karachi-Pakistan. The factors that contribute to the inadequate knowledge of PE among pregnant women is low level of education and early marriage in very young age.