Knowledge and Experiences of Pregnant Females Towards Physiotherapy in Lahore

ABSTRACT Objectives: To assess physiotherapy knowledge and experiences among pregnant females in antenatal care culture meanwhile aims to raise awareness about importance of physiotherapy in antenatal care. Methodology:  This study was cross sectional .After the approval from IRB SMDC subjects were recruited using convenient sampling. Study setting was gynecology department of Shalamar hospital Lahore. Written consent form and study description was provided to each participant. After giving complete description of study data and signing the consent information was recorded through in person interview with each subject using a self-administered questionnaire, it took 5-10 minutes with each subject. Online Google form was sent to pregnant women. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS 25. Results: With a response rate of 100% it was found that most of women (n=106 79.1%) knew about physiotherapy, but knowledge and awareness of antenatal physiotherapy and its benefits were fairly low (n=46, 34.1%. Prevalence of low back pain (n=112, 82.9%), urine leakage (n=48, 35.5%), and other musculoskeletal stresses were seen to be high among pregnant females. While there was little guidance (n=23, 17%) about antenatal physiotherapy and referral to physiotherapy (n=22, 15.07%) was also quite low. Conclusion: Pregnant females had quite insufficient knowledge and experiences in antenatal physiotherapy. There is a need to educate masses about physiotherapy and its benefits in antenatal care. Appropriate measures should be taken to spread awareness and knowledge among pregnant females, families and health care providers for improvement of quality of life among pregnant females. Key words: Pregnant females, Physiotherapy, Pregnancy, Exercise, Knowledge, Experiences.