Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Pregnant Mothers Towards Routine Ultrasound in Rural Areas of Mubende district.

Abstract

Introduction and background: Maternal and neonatal conditions are among the highest causes of ill health and avoidable death in Uganda. Results from Uganda and Health survey (UDHS) reveal that infant mortality rate was 54 per 1000 live birth whereas maternal death was 18% of all deaths to mothers 5-49(UDHS,2011) . Globally, each year about 7.9 million children are given birth with a serious birth defect. Furthermore 3.2 million may live to tell the tale, but later in life can develop a disability(Carmona et al., 2005).Birth defects are among the leading causes of prenatal mortality and childhood morbidity worldwide (Dastigiri et al., 2011) Congenital anomalies may turn-up into long term disability, which may have serious impact on individuals, families and communities. Heart defects, neural tube defects and Down syndrome are most common birth defects. However the occurrence of birth defects in the developing world is underestimated due to poor turn up of mothers for medical services like ultrasound scan which is diagnostic tool. Dependable estimates of occurrence of congenital anomalies at birth come from records of congenital malformation in newborns (Penchaszadeh et al., 2000). The international congenital malformations revealed that the prevalence of identifiable malformations among newborns is between 2-3% and it is comparable to that found in developed countries. Recorded rates for congenital malformations in third world countries are under reported. (ICBDMS, 1991). Data on birth defects in sub-Saharan region is scarce. Many congenital anomalies can be prevented through immunization, sufficient intake of supplements like folic acid, iodine and regular prenatal and antenatal checkups. Furthermore birth defects can also be diagnosed as early as 12 weeks by ultrasound scan, but there‘s poor utilization of the services by expectant mothers. One of the ways congenital abnormalities can be reduced is through addressing pregnant mothers‘ perceptions towards modern health care -techniques like routine obstetric ultrasound scans. Through assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant mothers towards routine obstetric ultrasound the study will come up with recommendations which can be used by the stake holders like ministry of Health to put up different policies and interventions to enhance ultrasound use by pregnant mothers. Objectives: Broad objective- to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant mothers towards routine obstetric ultrasound. Specific objectives: To assess the knowledge of pregnant mothers towards routine obstetric ultrasound scan. To establish attitudes of pregnant mothers towards routine obstetric ultrasound scan. To assess the practice of the pregnant mothers towards routine obstetric ultrasound Methodology: The study will be carried out in Mubende Regional Referral Hospital. The study will be cross sectional in nature including pregnant mothers of rural areas of Mubende attending antenatal care at the health facility .Qualitative and quantitative data will be generated from cross sectional survey of a sample size of 100 respondents, using structured questionnaires for quantitative data. The data will be entered and analyzed using EPI-INFO, SPSS and Excel.