Knowledge, attitudes and practices of pregnant women regarding prenatal care followed in a primary health center in the city of Dhi qar

This study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding prenatal care of pregnant women in a primary health center in Dhi Qar City. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 pregnant women who applied to primary health care centers in Dhi Qar, Iraq, between 12 November 2022 and 12 January 2023. The data were collected with the questionnaire prepared by the researchers and the knowledge scale on prenatal care of pregnant women. For data analysis, the question-based score evaluation of the scale was given as mean±standard deviation. Descriptive statistics were made by giving the frequency and percentage values of the categorical variables obtained from sociodemographic and clinical information. Group comparisons for normally distributed continuous variables were analyzed using the independent t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed variables. In comparing more than two groups, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used in non-parametric conditions, and the post hoc test Bonferroni analysis was applied for pairwise comparisons in case of significance. Cases with a "p" value below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. A significant difference (p=0.040) was found between occupational groups in the sub-dimension score that measures the knowledge level of pregnant women about antenatal care. In addition, it was determined that there was a significant difference in the same sub-dimension between literate and primary and secondary school graduates and undergraduate and university graduates (p=0.031). The pracitce sub-dimension score was found to be significantly higher in pregnant women whose age of marriage was 18 and over (p=0.030). While the attitude sub-dimension score was found to be significantly higher in the pregnant women who had a miscarriage (p<0.0001), the practice sub-dimension score was found to be high in the pregnant women who had never had a miscarriage (p=0.023). The attitude sub-dimension score was significantly higher in pregnant women who had a cesarean delivery compared to those who had a normal delivery (p=0.020). Determining the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards antenatal care in pregnant women is crucial in maintaining a healthy pregnancy process and preventing potential risks.