Knowledge and Attitude Towards Routine Obstetric Ultrasound Screening & Reproductive Health Act among the Pregnant Women at a Tertiary level Hospital of Nepal.

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography examination during pregnancy forms an integral part of antenatal care throughout the world. The decision of women to undergo an obstetric ultrasound test is influenced by their level of knowledge and attitude toward prenatal procedures. The purpose of the study is to assess knowledge and attitude towards routine obstetric ultrasound screening & reproductive health act among the pregnant women at a tertiary institution of Pokhara.

Method: A cross-sectional study was done at the radiology department of Western Regional Hospital (PoAHS). Eligible participants were sampled conveniently (n=110) through semi-structured questionnaires and data was analyzed with SPSS v25. Descriptive methods were used for sociodemographic variables and Anova test was utilized to find out the relation of knowledge with sociodemographic variables

Result: The majority of pregnant women (94.5%) expressed an adequate level of knowledge about obstetric ultrasonography. The knowledge score was significantly higher for participants with a higher literacy level and those enrolled in services or employed, as well as for those who were aware of recent updates. Although 88.2% of pregnant women knew about sex determination, only 65.5% were aware of The Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act.

Conclusion: The awareness regarding ultrasound use during pregnancy and attitude towards ultrasound was fairly good but many pregnant women were aware of prenatal sex determination and unaware of The Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act. So every possible route particularly uses of mass and media can be done to create awareness regarding the recommendation of the Safe motherhood and Reproductive health Act to the public.