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- Title
Awareness of Pregnancy-Associated Health Risks Among Pregnant Women and Male Partners Surveyed in a Prenatal Clinic.
- Authors
Mellon, Michelle; Schiller, Andrew; Nelson, Anita L.; Stohl, Hindi E.
- Abstract
Background: Underestimation of pregnancy-associated health risks could compromise informed decision-making and reduce demand for preconception care. We assessed the knowledge of pregnant women and male partners about several health risks posed by pregnancy to identify potential gaps in reproductive health literacy. Materials and Methods: Pregnant women and male partners were surveyed about their knowledge of seven common health risks associated with pregnancy (venous thromboembolism [VTE], diabetes, gallstones, hemorrhoids, hypertension [HTN], kidney infection, and anemia) in either English or Spanish in a prenatal clinic at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. Results: The response rate for women was estimated to be 66% and was 85% for men. Of the 285 respondents, 5.0% of women and 5.6% of men were able to correctly report that all seven health risks increased during pregnancy. Overall, 30.6% of women and 24% of men recognized that pregnancy increased the risks of the three most serious conditions (VTE, diabetes, and HTN). While higher education was associated with a higher awareness of these three serious risks, the majority of individuals with the highest education nonetheless incorrectly reported that these risks were reduced or unchanged in pregnancy. Age, parity, language, gender, and gestational age did not impact study findings. Overall, 77.9% of respondents rated oral birth control pills more hazardous to a woman's health than pregnancy. Conclusions: Surveyed pregnant women and male partners have significant knowledge deficiencies concerning common and serious health hazards associated with pregnancy that may hamper women's ability to make informed choices about their reproductive health options.
- Subjects
CALIFORNIA; KIDNEY disease risk factors; THROMBOEMBOLISM risk factors; ACADEMIC medical centers; AGE distribution; ANEMIA; GESTATIONAL diabetes; GALLSTONES; GESTATIONAL age; HEMORRHOIDS; HYPERTENSION in pregnancy; LANGUAGE &; languages; PSYCHOLOGY of men; PREGNANCY complications; PREGNANCY &; psychology; PRENATAL care; SEX distribution; PSYCHOLOGY of Spouses; SURVEYS; VEINS; REPRODUCTIVE health; EDUCATIONAL attainment; PARITY (Obstetrics); HEALTH literacy; DISEASE risk factors
- Publication
Journal of Women's Health (15409996), 2020, Vol 29, Issue 3, p376
- ISSN
1540-9996
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1089/jwh.2018.7585