Birth preparedness and complication readiness among prenatal attendees in a teaching hospital in South West Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To assess birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) as well as knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy, labor/delivery, and the postpartum period.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken of pregnant women attending the prenatal clinic at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria between October and December 2016. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data on BPCR, and logistic regression was performed to determine factors affecting BPCR.

RESULTS: Of 325 participants, 274 (84.3%) had knowledge of BPCR components, and 265 (81.5%) were well prepared for birth and its complications. However, only 89 (27.4%) knew key danger signs during labor/delivery and 81 (24.9%) knew those in the first 2 days after delivery. Older age, higher parity, tertiary education of women, paid employment of women and their spouses, higher social class, frequent prenatal visits, and knowledge of danger signs were significantly associated with BPCR (P<0.05). Higher parity, maternal government employment, and knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy remained determinants of BPCR on logistic regression (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Although there was a high level of knowledge and practice of BPCR, knowledge of key danger signs was low. Therefore, prenatal education needs to be improved with an emphasis on teaching pregnant women to recognize key danger signs.