A Descriptive Study to Assess the Level of Knowledge on Minor Ailments in Pregnancy among Antenatal Mothers in Selected Hospital, Vrindavan, Mathura

Abstract

Pregnancy is the period which lasts approximately 10 lunar months, 9 calendar months, 40 weeks or 280 days. Length of pregnancy is computed from the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) until the day of birth. However, conception occurs approximately 2 weeks after the first day of the LMP. Thus, the post conception age of the fetus is 2 weeks less, for a total of 266 days or 38 weeks (Lowdermilk et al., 2006). During pregnancy, a woman’s body changes in many ways. These changes can sometimes be uncomfortable, but most of the time they are normal. They can occur at any time during the pregnancy. These changes that the female body undergoes during pregnancy begin soon after fertilization and continue throughout gestation. These changes occur in response to physiological stimuli provided by the fetus and placenta. These changes may be unpleasant as well as worrying but they are rarely a cause for alarm as most of these changes are usually normal. These so-called minor disorders or ailments of pregnancy can be troublesome on a day-to-day basis. An important nursing responsibility during the prenatal period is educating the client regarding the discomforts, that occur during pregnancy and the remedies to these will make them more comfortable. Another important aspect is counselling on the discomforts of pregnancy will help the pregnant women distinguish between a normal discomfort and a real problem in the pregnancy. (Littleton, L.Y. 2009). Objectives: To assess the knowledge regarding minor ailments among antenatal mother.
To associate knowledge level on minor ailments during pregnancy with demographic variables like age, education, trimester of pregnancy & parity. Hypothesis: H1-There will be significant difference on knowledge about Minor Ailments in pregnancy
H2-There will be significant association between the knowledge and the socio demographic variable. Delimitations: The study will be delimited to antenatal mothers attending antenatal Outpatient Department at Ramkrishna Mission Charitable Hospital. Vrindavan, Mathura Methodology: A descriptive research design was undertaken for this study. The population of the study consists of health workers at selected hospitals of Meerut. With the sample size of 50 were selected by using non probability convenient sampling. Result: Out of 50 mothers 10(20%) had inadequate knowledge & 21(42%) had moderate knowledge and 19 (38%) had adequate knowledge regarding the minor Ailments in Antenatal period. And there was significant association with type of family whereas there is no significant association between age, religion, parity, occupation, income and place of living. Conclusion: The study concluded that the most of the Antenatal mothers are having moderate knowledge regarding the minor ailments in Antenatal period.