Danger signs of pregnancy are warning signs that women encounter during pregnancy, child birth and post-partum period. It is important, to know these warning signs for women and health care providers to rule out serious complications and initiate treatment immediately. Objectives: 1. To assess the awareness of danger signs of pregnancy among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Nandagudi PHC. 2. To give health education to the pregnant women about the risk factors and danger signs. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in PHC, Nandagudi , field practise area of MVJMC and RH. Study was carried out from September 2017 to November 2017. A total of 210 pregnant women who attended the ante natal clinic at PHC, Nandagudi were the study subjects. A pre designed pretested questionnaire was used. Data collected was thus entered in M S excel and was analysed using SPSS 21 version. Results: 60% of the study population belonged to the age group 23-27. Majority (90%) of them knew the importance of iron and folic acid. 72% of the cases knew the importance of blood group in pregnancy. Majority (91%) preferred hospital delivery compared to home delivery (9%). All 210 women knew about only 3 danger signs, they are bleeding per vagina, loss of consciousness and convulsions. Conclusion: Every pregnant woman faces the risk of sudden, unpredictable complication that could end in death or injury to herself or to her infant. Hence, it is necessary to employ strategies to overcome such problems as they arise.

Level of awareness of risk factors and danger signs of pregnancy among pregnant women attending antenatal care in PHC, Nandagudi

Knowledge of obstetric danger signs is crucial to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality by identifying the problems earlier and avoiding the delay in seeking obstetric care. According to World Health Organization (WHO) more than 70% of maternal deaths occur due to obstetric complications and most of these deaths occur in developing countries. Most of these are preventable if pregnant women can identify these life-threatening danger signs on time and seek appropriate emergency obstetric care. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of obstetric danger signs among pregnant women. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from 15th July to 30th August 2021, 194 pregnant women who visited the Gynaecology Outpatient Department in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital, were enrolled for the study. Data were collected through face to face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The study findings revealed that overall knowledge on obstetric danger signs was suboptimal (3.1%). The median knowledge score of respondents on antenatal danger signs was 30.0% (Q1-Q3=17.5-40), intra-natal danger signs was 0.0% (Q1-Q3=0-20) and postnatal danger signs were 25% (Q1-Q3=0- 25). Severe vaginal bleeding was the most frequently mentioned danger sign in each of the three gestational periods (antenatal: 78.9%, intra-natal; 29.9% and postnatal; 39.7%). In conclusion, service providers and health management teams should emphasize on information, education and communication for every pregnant woman focusing on obstetric danger signs to have better awareness and thereby reduce adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Knowledge regarding obstetric danger signs among pregnant women

Improving the Quality of Postpartum Care in Ghana: Protocol for a parallel Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

A lack of awareness regarding obstetric danger signs (ODS) is one of the factors that delay a pregnant woman’s decision to seek emergency obstetric care. In developing countries, this delay can lead to high morbidity and mortality among pregnant women. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), very few studies have been conducted to assess the level of knowledge of pregnant women about ODS. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge of pregnant women about ODS in health facilities in eastern DRC. This quantitative cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was conducted in 19 health facilities in the Kasongo health zone in the south Maniema Province of eastern DRC. A total of 624 pregnant women aged 12–49 years were interviewed in this study. Of these, 60.6% were secondary school graduates, >99% were married, 85.5% were cultivators, and 67.9% were Muslims. The knowledge of ODS among pregnant women was low (21.9%). The most cited danger signs during pregnancy, labor/delivery, and postpartum included severe abdominal pain and severe vaginal bleeding. Additionally, pregnant women aged 30–39 years (p = 0.015) and those who had given birth once (p = 0.049), twice (p = 0.003), 3–5 times (p = 0.004), and >5 times (p = 0.009) were more likely to be aware of ODS than others. Our findings indicated that pregnant women have little knowledge of ODS, which makes it difficult for them to take prompt decisions to seek emergency obstetric care. Thus, strategies to increase the knowledge of pregnant women about obstetrical danger signs by healthcare providers during prenatal consultations (antenatal care) must be developed to improve their rapid decision-making skills during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.

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Knowledge of Obstetric Danger Signs among Pregnant Women in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract Background Mother's awareness of obstetric danger signs is the degree of a pregnant woman to fully utilize her knowledge of the signs and symptoms of complications of pregnancy, which helps the mother and family to seek medical help immediately. High maternal and infant mortality rates in developing countries are due to a combination of a lack of quality, resources and access to health services coupled with mother’s lack of awareness. The purpose of this study was to collect current empirical studies to describe the pregnant women awareness about the obstetric danger sign in developing country. Method This review employed the Prisma-ScR checklist. The articles searched in four electronic databases (Scopus, CINAHL, Science Direct, Google Scholar). Variables that used to search the articles (pregnant woman, knowledge, awareness, danger signs pregnancy). The Framework used to review is PICOS. Result The results of the article found 20 studies which met inclusion criteria. The determinants were high educational status, more pregnancy experience, more ANC visit, and labour in the health facility. Conclusion The level of awareness is low to medium, only some have fair awareness, in which related to determinant. The recommended effective strategy is to improve the ANC program by assess the risk of obstetric danger sign promptly, assess the barrier of health seeking related to the family support, i.e. the husband and the elderly. Additionally, use MCH handbook or mobile application to record the ANC visit and communicate with the family. 

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Pregnant woman awareness of obstetric danger signs in developing country: systematic review

Globally, every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The majority of these deaths occur after childbirth (post-partum period) mostly within 24 h. Raising awareness of women on obstetric danger sign of childbirth and postpartum, are crucial for safe motherhood initiative and to reduce maternal mortality. A community based cross sectional study was conducted from December 15, 2017 up to February 10, 2018 on randomly selected sample of 782 women who had at least one delivery in the last 12 months. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Pre tested structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 20.0 software. Total 732 women who had at least one birth prior to this survey were interviewed and making a response rate of 93.6%.The most common spontaneously mentioned danger signs during childbirth was Severe vaginal bleeding by 281 (68.4%). Women who could mention at least two danger signs during child birth and post-partum period were 333 (45.5%), 213(29.1%) respectively. Being urban (AOR = 3.54, 95% of CI: [2.20–5.69] and delivered previous birth at health institution (AOR = 3.35, 95% of CI: [2.38–4.72]) were factors found to be significantly associated with knowledge of danger signs during postpartum. Being Attended secondary level and above (AOR = 2.41, 95% of CI: [1.02–7.76]) and use of ANC during last pregnancy (AOR = 3.63, 95% of CI: [2.51–5.25]), were factors found to be significantly associated with knowledge of danger signs during childbirth. The level of knowledge about danger signs of child birth and postpartum were low. This indicates that many mothers are more likely to delay in deciding to seek health care. Also, knowledge about danger signs of childbirth and postpartum were affected by place of residence, formal education, use of ANC and place of delivery. Therefore, the identified gap in awareness should be addressed through effective maternal health services by strengthening and designing appropriate strategies including provision of targeted health information, education and communication.

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Abayneh Desalegn Dangura

Papers

Knowledge about child birth and postpartum obstetric danger signs and associated factors among mothers in Dale district, Southern Ethiopia