Browsing by Author "Sayami, M"
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Publication Maternal Health Seeking Behavior among Pregnant Women in Nepal(Institute of Medicine, 2014) Sayami, M; Bhandari, S; Tamrakar, J; Banjara, M RAbstract Introduction: Maternal mortality remains a global public health problem. Despite the call to improve access to maternal health care services and reduce maternal mortality, maternal health-seeking behavior in Nepal has remained poor. This study, therefore, aims to assess the awareness regarding pregnancy and health seeking behavior of pregnant women in Nepal. Methods: House-hold Survey and health camps were conducted from 2011 to 2012 by using structured questionnaires and physical examination of reproductive age women (15 to 49 years) in selected Village Development Committees of nine districts of Nepal. Data entry and analysis was performed by using SPSS version 11.5. Results: Among the pregnant women, 19.6% (n=235) did not go for Antenatal check (ANC). More than a half of the women having ANC visited Auxiliary Nurse Mid-wife. 15.8% (n=200) of the pregnant women did not receive tetanus toxoid (T.T) vaccine and 16.3% (n=195) did not take iron/folic acid. In comparison to younger age, the odds of having antenatal check-up was increased by two times in the women 25 to 34 years of age (p<0.001, OR=2.166). Women having formal education were more likely to go for ANC than other women were (p=0,002, OR=1.703). Involvement of pregnant women in the community organizations motivated them for ANC visit (p<0.001, OR=2.106). ANC visit had significantly increased T.T vaccination (p<0.001) and consumption of iron/folic acid (p<0.001). Conclusion: Lack of proper knowledge regarding complications of pregnancy and delivery remains the major challenge in health seeking behaviors. Therefore, raising awareness about its importance can improve maternal and child health. Keywords: antenatal care, health seeking behavior, maternal health, Nepal, pregnancy