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Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Uganda is a low-income country with high fertility, adolescent birth, and maternal mortality rates. How Ugandan Ministry of Health antenatal education guidelines have been implemented into standardized health education and how pregnant women utilize health facilities remains unclear. OBJ...

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Autores principales: Delzer, Mackenzie E., Kkonde, Anthony, McAdams, Ryan M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7886125/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33592036
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246926
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author Delzer, Mackenzie E.
Kkonde, Anthony
McAdams, Ryan M.
author_facet Delzer, Mackenzie E.
Kkonde, Anthony
McAdams, Ryan M.
author_sort Delzer, Mackenzie E.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Uganda is a low-income country with high fertility, adolescent birth, and maternal mortality rates. How Ugandan Ministry of Health antenatal education guidelines have been implemented into standardized health education and how pregnant women utilize health facilities remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine how women obtain education during pregnancy, what guidelines health educators follow, and what barriers exist to receiving antenatal care in Lweza Village, Uganda. METHODS: Household surveys were conducted with women in Lweza who were or had previously been pregnant. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members and Lweza Primary School teachers. Interviews were conducted with key informants, including midwives, a traditional birth attendant, a community leader, and a Village Health Team member. Data collection was done in English along with a Luganda translator. RESULTS: Of the 100 household surveys conducted, 86% of women did not meet the WHO recommendation of 8 antenatal appointments during their pregnancies. Reasons cited for inadequate visits included facing long wait times (>7 h) at health facilities, getting education from family or traditional healers, or being told to delay antenatal care until 6 months pregnant. Informant interviews revealed that no standardized antenatal education program exists. Respondents felt least educated on family planning and postpartum depression, despite 37% of them reporting symptoms consistent with postpartum depression. Education was also lacking on the use of traditional herbs, although most women (60%) reported using them during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Most women in Lweza do not receive 8 antenatal appointments during their pregnancies or any standardized antenatal education. Educational opportunities on family planning, postpartum depression, and the safety of traditional herbs during pregnancy exist. Future studies should focus on ways to overcome barriers to antenatal care, which could include implementing community-based education programs to improve health outcomes for women in Lweza Village.
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spelling pubmed-78861252021-02-23 Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda Delzer, Mackenzie E. Kkonde, Anthony McAdams, Ryan M. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Uganda is a low-income country with high fertility, adolescent birth, and maternal mortality rates. How Ugandan Ministry of Health antenatal education guidelines have been implemented into standardized health education and how pregnant women utilize health facilities remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine how women obtain education during pregnancy, what guidelines health educators follow, and what barriers exist to receiving antenatal care in Lweza Village, Uganda. METHODS: Household surveys were conducted with women in Lweza who were or had previously been pregnant. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members and Lweza Primary School teachers. Interviews were conducted with key informants, including midwives, a traditional birth attendant, a community leader, and a Village Health Team member. Data collection was done in English along with a Luganda translator. RESULTS: Of the 100 household surveys conducted, 86% of women did not meet the WHO recommendation of 8 antenatal appointments during their pregnancies. Reasons cited for inadequate visits included facing long wait times (>7 h) at health facilities, getting education from family or traditional healers, or being told to delay antenatal care until 6 months pregnant. Informant interviews revealed that no standardized antenatal education program exists. Respondents felt least educated on family planning and postpartum depression, despite 37% of them reporting symptoms consistent with postpartum depression. Education was also lacking on the use of traditional herbs, although most women (60%) reported using them during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Most women in Lweza do not receive 8 antenatal appointments during their pregnancies or any standardized antenatal education. Educational opportunities on family planning, postpartum depression, and the safety of traditional herbs during pregnancy exist. Future studies should focus on ways to overcome barriers to antenatal care, which could include implementing community-based education programs to improve health outcomes for women in Lweza Village. Public Library of Science 2021-02-16 /pmc/articles/PMC7886125/ /pubmed/33592036 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246926 Text en © 2021 Delzer et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Delzer, Mackenzie E.
Kkonde, Anthony
McAdams, Ryan M.
Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title_full Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title_fullStr Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title_short Viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in Lweza village, Uganda
title_sort viewpoints of pregnant mothers and community health workers on antenatal care in lweza village, uganda
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7886125/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33592036
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246926
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