A Study to Assess the Knowledge of Antenatal Care among Antenatal Mothers in a Tertiary Hospital of North Goa

Abstract

The potential of antenatal care for reducing maternal morbidity and improving new born survival and health is widely acknowledged. Giving pregnant women relevant information to make informed decision remains a challenge to health professionals. Antenatal care plays an important role in achieving successful labour & delivery process. Regular check-ups help in physical & mental preparation in the days to come leading to mother-child well being and easy delivery. Most of the mothers lack in knowledge regarding antenatal care and visits, resulting in maternal & foetal morbidity and mortality. Therefore, there was a felt need to assess the knowledge of (cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:74)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:192)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:3) scores of antenatal mothers and selected demographic variables. In this study quantitative research approach was used. The research design selected was exploratory, descriptive, survey type. The study tool used was a structured questionnaire with convenience sampling with 200 primigravida antenatal mothers. The data was analysed in terms of frequency and percentage. The result indicated that majority of them (63%) had average knowledge, 35 percent had good knowledge and 2 percent had poor knowledge regarding antenatal care.