Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Expectant Mothers in Relation to Antenatal Care in Abha

摘要

Background: Antenatal Care (ANC) is the care before birth that include complete screening, treatment, promoting and monitoring of the safety of the mother and fetus. Objectives: Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices of expectant mothers in relation to antenatal care in Abha. Methods: This is a cross-sectional questionnaire based study conducted in Abha City from August to October 2017among 300 expectant women from different parts of Abha city. Results: Most of the subjects had appropriate knowledge about the importance of ANC visits which resulted in good attitude and practice pattern among the majority of them. The majority of included women had good knowledge about the importance of ANC visits for supplementing women with vitamins and folic acid, giving them information about breast feeding and postpartum care, correct signs of labor, its importance for maintain women and child health, importance of ANC visits for the fetal developmental stages, decreasing the rates of maternal mortality, providing adequate knowledge about the danger symptoms and the complications of pregnancy and the importance of booking, following up and delivering later in the same place that they booked in. Conclusion: Most of the women had good knowledge, attitude and practice toward ANC visits. The majority of the subjects were highly educated thus further large population studies are needed to be conducted all over KSA cities and include rural areas.