The relationship between demographic factors and levels of self-care against coronavirus in pregnant women referred to maternity wards

BACKGROUND: The adverse effects of coronavirus infection on pregnant women and their infants are not apparent. The best strategies to deal with this disease is avoiding the infection and preventing its transmission. PURPOSE: the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographic factors and levels of self-care against coronavirus in pregnant women referred to maternity wards of Kerman, southeast Iran. METHOD: The present descriptive study was conducted on 200 pregnant women who referred to maternity wards in Kerman in 2020 and met the inclusion criteria. The required information was collected using demographic and obstetric questionnaires and a self-care checklist. FINDINGS: The mean age of the participants was 28.89 ± 7.07. Iranian and Afghan citizens comprised 82 and 18% of the participants, respectively. The highest level of self-care measures against coronavirus in pregnant women was attributed to the use of face masks (74%), and the lowest was warning the personnel to wear masks (28%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the nationality of the participants and warning the personnel to wear facemasks (r = 0.183; p = 0.02), having a sick spouse (r=0.149;P = 0.039), and having a sick child (r = 0.191; p = 0.043), and between the husbands’ job and the patients’ demand for a private room (r = 0.173; p = 0.013). There was an inverse relationship between mothers’ age and warning the personnel about paying attention to their hygiene (r = -0.145; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that most pregnant women in the present study were active in self-care against coronavirus. Using face masks was more widely followed than other self-care measures; moreover, there was a relationship between personal characteristics and self-care levels.