Accessing the Knowledge, Attitude, and Prevalence of Pre-Eclampsia Among Women of Childbearing Age Admitted in Obstetric Ward at Morogoro Regional Hospital

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a threatening sickness to the health of women of childbearing age during pregnancy after 20 weeks of gestational age. It is portrayed by the onset of high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine. We aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and prevalence of pre-eclampsia among women admitted in the Obstetric ward at Morogoro regional hospital.

Methodology; It was a prospective cross-sectional study involving 109 pregnant women. A random interviewer-administered method was conducted. The analysis was done by using Epi Info (version 7).

Results; The study revealed that 38.53% of prime- gravida and 14.68% of multiparous pregnant women had never heard about pre-eclampsia. Only 5.50% of prime-gravida and 31.19% of multiparous pregnant women heard the term “pre-eclampsia." More than half of the respondents, 64.22% understood, but nearly one-third of women were not aware of pre-eclampsia as a seriously dangerous condition, and 6.42% of respondents had no response. Besides, the prevalence of pre-eclampsia was found to be 13.76%, and the most aged affected group was 26-35 years.

Recommendations: Early detection of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia is essential for proper treatment and delivery planning. Pregnant women should take the antenatal clinics to care very seriously, and the Government should encourage health education on the causes, symptoms, and prevention of pre-eclampsia and its complications.