Women’s knowledge of physiotherapy during pregnancy: a mixed study

Abstract Background Many women may not be aware of physiotherapy in pregnancy. The objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness of physiotherapy in pregnancy among pregnant women in the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), Kenya. Methods A mixed study was conducted on ANC mothers, ANC nurses, and physiotherapists. Consecutive sampling was employed for the quantitative study (101 participants) and a purposive sample of 15 participants for the qualitative study. Questionnaire and interview guides were utilized for data collection. SPSS version 27 was applied for quantitative data analysis, while thematic content approach analyzed qualitative data. Results One hundred one ANC mothers participated in the study; the mean age was 27.3 year. Forty percent ( n = 40) had attained high school education; 54% ( n = 55) lived in the urban area. Seventy-five percent ( n = 76) were knowledgeable on the significance of antenatal care; however, only 27% ( n = 27) attended the first ANC visit, and the numbers tapered with subsequent visits to 2% ( n = 2) for the 6th visit. Eighty-five percent ( n = 86) did not know about physiotherapy during pregnancy, while a meager 15% ( n = 15) pregnant women had knowledge regarding physiotherapy in pregnancy. Fifty-three percent of pregnant women had no source of knowledge about physiotherapy; 22% experienced LBP as a complication during the pregnancy that would be managed by physiotherapy. Interviews elicited three themes which highlighted low knowledge of physiotherapy in pregnancy, low uptake of ANC, and the challenges facing physiotherapy education program in ANC. Conclusion There was low knowledge on physiotherapy among ANC mothers despite the need for this service. Low education levels and staff shortage came out strongly as the main challenges. Programs should be instituted to empower women with lower educational status to seek for apt knowledge on all relevant services during ANC. Likewise, the government should improve staff establishment in public hospitals to facilitate ANC educational programs for healthcare providers and mothers.