Assessment of Perception and Management Practices of Pre-eclampsia among Pregnant Women in Southwest Nigeria

Background
Pre-eclampsia remains one of the leading causes of
maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in low
resource countries with weak health systems.
Complications from pre-eclampsia occurs in 2–8% of
pregnancies worldwide and up to 10% in developing

countries. Despite the increasing complications from pre-
eclampsia, there is limited data on the perception and

management practices of preeclampsia in the study
location. The study assessed the perception and
management practices of pre-eclampsia among pregnant
women from Osun State, Southwest Nigeria
 Patients and Methods
The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional
design. From a population of 2,283 pregnant women in
Osun East Senatorial district a sample size of 331 was
determined by multi-stage sampling technique. A
validated interviewer-administered questionnaire was
used for data collection. The Cronbach alpha coefficient
for the entire construct was 0.97. The respondent’s
perception of pre-eclampsia was measured on 42-point
rating scale and management practices were measured
on an 18-point rating scale. Data was analysed and
presented in frequencies, percentages, mean, and
standard deviation. Statistical significance was
considered at p < 0.05The respondents had a Perception mean score of
15.4 ± 4.18 while Majority (87.6%) of the respondents
had low perception of pre-eclampsia. There was a
statistically significant relationship between perception
and management of Pre-eclampsia (r = 0.138 p = 0.012)
 Conclusion
The Perception of pre-eclampsia among pregnant
women was low. This finding underscores the need for
intensified effort to improve perception of pre-eclampsia
among women via health education at antenatal clinics,
media channels and national education programmes to
improve pregnancy outcomes.