Female health worker's pregnancy and pregnancy follow-up characterics

Introduction and Aim: Prenatal care aims to ensure that the mother and fetus are monitored at regular intervals throughout pregnancy by a trained health worker and that mothers have a healthy pregnancy and healthy babies are born. Within the scope of this study, we aimed to reveal the characteristics of pregnancy and pregnancy follow-up of female health workers with a questionnaire study. Materials and Methods: Our study was planned as a cross-sectional study. An online and physical questionnaire form assessing the characteristics of last pregnancy and pregnancy follow-up of female health workers was used for data collection. SPSS 27.0 program was used for statistical analysis. Data were collected between 01.10.2023 and 31.12.2024. Results: A total of 283 female health workers, 193 of whom were nurses and 90 of whom were doctors, participated in our study. The 3 most common risk factors in the last pregnancies of the participants were vaginal bleeding (12.4%), pregnancy over 35 years of age (10.6%), Rh incompatibility (7.4%), respectively. Folic acid use rate was 82%, tetanus vaccination rate was 86.9% and dual screening test rate was 61.5%. The use of folic acid, vitamin D and omega 3 was significantly higher among physicians, and the rate of influenza vaccination was higher among those with a history of chronic disease (p<0.05 for all values). Participants reported that they consulted a family physician 2.34±2.09 times; had hemoglobin and urine protein checked for screening purposes 3.32±2.28 times and 2.40±2.06 times, respectively; 29.7% had their blood pressure measured monthly and 49.8% irregularly. The mean number of visits to the family physician was higher in those who used folic acid, vitamin D and omega 3 during pregnancy, who received hepatitis B vaccination, and who received prenatal, breastfeeding, exercise and family planning education (p<0.05 for all values). Conclusion: This study revealed that the follow-up habits of female healthcare workers during pregnancy and the conditions associated with risk factors varied according to occupational groups and individual characteristics. Keywords: Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Health Worker