World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

KAP STUDY OF MOTHERS WITH HYPERTENSION IN PREGNANCY

Shagufta Yousuf*, Aastha Garg and Sadhna Sharma

ABSTRACT

Background: Hypertension during pregnancy is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Knowledge, attitude and perception of pregnant women pertaining to hypertension during pregnancy have a significant impact on overall pregnancy outcome. Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty hypertensive mothers were enrolled for the study and were assessed for their knowledge, perception and attitude pertaining to hypertension in pregnancy and was recorded in a predesigned proforma. Observations and Results: We enrolled a total of 120 pregnant women with hypertension with or without preeclamsia, who were in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Majority of our study population was in the age group of 19 to 30 years (55%) followed by 31 to 40 years (40). Out of 120 mothers, only 10 (8%) of the mothers were aware of the normal level of blood pressure during pregnancy and 15 (12%) were aware about the causes of hypertension during pregnancy. More than 1/3rd of the mothers were aware about the adverse effects of hypertension on mother’s health and less than 50% were aware of the adverse pregnancy outcome. Nearly half of the women were aware of the treatment options available. Just above 50%of the mothers were attending antenatal clinics regularly and only half of them were taking medications regularly and adequately. Despite being hypertensive as many as 1/3rd of the mothers were not taking any antihypertensive medications. Conclusion: Pregnant women in our setup do not have sufficient knowledge pertaining to hypertension during pregnancy. Their perception of complication of anemia in pregnancy and attitude towards preventing and treating hypertension is also poor.

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