Knowledge of Pre-Eclampsia and Its Risk Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Lango Sub-Region, Northern Uganda

Abstract

Background and Aim: Pre-eclampsia, while poorly understood, is a major public health concern in Africa and one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Its prevention and treatment depend on early detection. Sadly, many mothers globally have limited knowledge of the same. The present study evaluated the level of knowledge of Pre-eclampsia and its risk factors among pregnant mothers attending antenatal care in Lango sub-region, northern Uganda. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 pregnant women attending antenatal care at Lira regional referral hospital using a consecutive sampling technique to recruit study participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data was collected using a validated well-structured questionnaire and analyzed at univariate and bivariate levels employing binary logistic regression using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: 71.2% of the study participants had never heard of pre-eclampsia while 71.6 had no idea when one is most likely to experience preeclampsia. Only 26% of the participants had received health education talks regarding pre-eclampsia whereas 16.8% had adequate knowledge of pre-eclampsia and its risk factors. The level of knowledge of pre-eclampsia and its risk factors was associated with the participants’ level of education, and age (P-values ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge level of pre-eclampsia and its risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care was very low in Lango sub-region, Northern Uganda based on education level and age. More efforts are needed to educate mothers on the danger of pre-eclampsia and its risk factors in this particular region and Uganda as a whole.