Pregnant Women’s Knowledge of Prenatal Ultrasound in Jimma Town Public Health Institutions, Ethiopia

Background:

Ultrasonographic (U/S) evaluation of the fetus, placenta, and amniotic fluid is an integral part of antenatal care (ANC). U/S results confirm fetal viability and gestational age, and multiple gestations. U/S can also provide evidence to rule out fetal abnormalities related to anatomy or blood flow. However, a woman’s knowledge about prenatal U/S is not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess pregnant women’s knowledge of this prenatal U/S assessment technique.

Methods:

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 303 pregnant women attending ANC in Jimma Town, Ethiopia, from July to August 2021. Women were interviewed in Jimma town public health care facilities.

The sample size was calculated using the single population proportion formula, and samples were taken after proportional allocation was performed for the hospital and health centers using the proportion allocation formula.

Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1.1 and exported into the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 21.0 for cleaning and further analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the explanatory and response variables.

The strength of the association of the dependent and independent variables was presented as crude and adjusted odds ratios at a 95% confidence interval. For the multivariable logistic regression, the level of significance was a p-value of less than 0.05.

Results:

In this study, 190 (62.7%) of the respondents had a good knowledge of obstetric ultrasound. Residency, primary school (grades 1–8), an education greater than secondary school, and a history of at least one abortion were significantly associated with participants’ knowledge about prenatal ultrasound.

Conclusions:

Approximately two-thirds of pregnant women had a good knowledge related to prenatal U/S. However, the proportion with good knowledge in the current study was lower than the World Health Organization recommendation.