Awareness of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among women in Jordan.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the level and determinants of awareness of the danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among pregnant Jordanian women aged 15 years and older.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study of 350 women attending prenatal care services was performed. Interviews were conducted at 4 public-health centers in Zarqa, Jordan, using a structured questionnaire. Awareness was defined as "knowing at least 4 danger signs and symptoms".

RESULTS

Overall, 84.8% of the women interviewed were not aware of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication. Sociodemographic factors-including duration of education and current employment; husband's duration of education; family size; and whether women were given information about danger signs and symptoms-were associated with awareness in a binary analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that education level of study participants, their husbands' education level, and receiving information about danger signs and symptoms were all associated with awareness (P=0.02 for all associations).

CONCLUSION

Awareness of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among women in Jordan is low. A need exists to provide prenatal care that includes sufficient information about pregnancy-related danger signs and symptoms to meet the need for safe motherhood, as pointed out by the Millennium Development Goals.