Knowledge and Prevalence of Warning Signs in Pregnancy among Pregnant Women in selected Rural Health Centers of Cachar District, Assam

Warning signs in pregnancy are the symptoms that indicate a life-threatening condition for the mother and foetus. The warning signs in pregnancy include vaginal bleeding, amniotic fluid leakage, changes in fetal movement, severe headache, blurred vision, abdominal pain, fever and swelling of limbs. Timely recognition of pregnancy warning signs is crucial in preventing maternal complications. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of warning signs in pregnancy, to assess the prevalence of warning signs in pregnancy, to find out the association between knowledge of warning signs and the selected socio-demographic variables, to find out the association between prevalence of warning signs and selected socio-demographic variables and to find out the association between knowledge of pregnant women regarding warning signs and the prevalence of warning signs. Methodology: A quantitative research approach with descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study. 146 subjects were selected by multistage random sampling technique from the selected rural health centers under Sonai Block Primary Health Center, Cachar, Assam. The data was collected through structured interview schedule where self-structured questionnaire was used for knowledge assessment and checklist was used for assessing prevalence. Analysis: Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Result: Majority of the pregnant women i.e. 54.11% had moderately adequate knowledge which was significantly associated with educational status, occupation, monthly family income and previous knowledge of the pregnant women. In case of prevalence of warning signs majority i.e. 34.93% were experiencing blurring of vision during pregnancy. There was significant association found between prevalence of blurring of vision in pregnancy and educational status, prevalence of decreased foetal movement and previous knowledge, prevalence of foul smelling vaginal discharge and dietary pattern, prevalence of swelling of face and occupation, prevalence of swelling of legs and source of information, prevalence of leakage of watery fluid from vagina with dietary pattern and source of information. There was significant association found between knowledge of pregnant women regarding warning signs with the prevalence of blurring of vision and swelling of legs in pregnancy. Conclusion: It is necessary to conduct health education using familiar terms by the health workers during antenatal checkup and follow up of the pregnant women.