gms | German Medical Science

The level maternal mortality is unacceptably high globally and has become a major global concern. Women are dying from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications around the world. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of birth preparedness and complication readiness among women in the Gambia. The specific objectives were to ascertain the knowledge level of women on BPCR, to find out the attitude of women in the Gambia towards BPCR, to assess the practice of BPCR by women in the Gambia and to identify factors associated with BPCR among women in the Gambia. A descriptive cross-sectional method was used. The study population was women who gave birth in the last 12 months preceding the study. The sample size was 445 across the selected 4 LGAs using a multi stage sampling technique. Simple frequency distribution was calculated for the socio demographic characteristics of the participants. Cross tabulation using chi square and Fisher exact test and logistic regression analysis were done to identify factors associated with birth preparedness and complication readiness. The mean age (standard deviation) of participants was 1.6 (0.6) years. Only few participants 64, (14.4%) of the participants had good knowledge while 381 (85.6%) had poor knowledge. Positive attitude towards BPCR was 219 (49.2%) while negative attitude was 226 (50.8%) and prepared were 47 (10.6%) while 398 (89.4%) were not prepared. After adjustment for confounding effect using binary logistic regression analysis, local government area and the level of education (odds ratio (OR) 0.253, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.108 - 0.592) and OR 0.095, 95% CI 0.029 - 0.310) were significant predictors of BPCR practice. KAP BPCR was poor among women in the Gambia.