Abstract:
Background: Despite an increasing proportion of pregnant women
accessing antenatal care (ANC) in low-income countries, preventable
maternal morbidity and mortality remains high. Limited women’s
knowledge on common diseases during pregnancy and on the indications
of routine health interventions delivered at the ANC clinic may reduce the
compliance and effectiveness of these interventions. We assessed pregnant
women’s knowledge on common diseases in pregnancy and on routine
interventions delivered at the ANC clinic as well as their compliance with
these interventions.
Material & Methods: From December-2019 to October-2020, we
undertook a qualitative study using individual semi-structured and in-
depth interviews in 79 pregnant women attending the ANC clinic of a
rural hospital in Mozambique. Participant’s ability to identify the drugs
administrated was assessed by showing them the drugs without the label
(antiretroviral, ferrous sulfate, cotrimoxazole, isoniazid, mebendazol and
antimalarial). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded and a combined
Content and Thematic analysis technique used. NVivo 12 software was
used to store and retrieve the data.
Results: Most of the participants recognized that infectious diseases such as
HIV, malaria, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and COVID-19,
could be harmful in pregnancy. Overall, knowledge on the indication of
the prescribed drugs was limited, being higher for antiretroviral drugs
and ferrous sulfate, and lower for mebendazol and isoniazid. The general
perception was that all drugs prescribed at the ANC clinic prevent or treat
malaria infection. Knowledge on the indication of the prescribed drugs
was generally higher in HIV-infected pregnant women compared to HIV
uninfected women. Forgetting daily medication intake, non-compliance
with the drug intake schedule and perceived importance given to some
drugs instead of others, were practices found regarding compliance to the
pharmacological interventions.
Conclusion: Knowledge of Mozambican pregnant women on health
interventions delivered at the ANC clinic was generally limited. The latter
may reduce compliance and adherence with these interventions and thus
their effectiveness and safety. Reinforcing information and education on
ANC health interventions targeting women of childbearing age would
improve maternal and infant health.
