Byanaku A K, Rwakatema D S.
Oral health of pregnant women; knowledge, attitude and practice at antenatal care clinic in morogoro municipal, tanzania.
Professional Med J Jan ;20(3):365-73.

Objective: To assess level of knowledge, attitude and practice on oral health mong pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic in Morogoro Municipal, Tanzania. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: Morogoro Municipality, Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Subjects and Methods: Pre tested questionnaires were administered randomly to 216 participants attending antenatal care clinic seeking to find out quantitative data on their specific socio-demographic characteristics, oral health knowledge, attitude and practice in 2012. A sample of 26 participants was involved in focus group discussions (FGD's). Questionnaire data were analyzed by Stata Version 12.1 programme. Chi-square test and Logistic regression models were used. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. FGD's qualitative data analysis was done manually using thematic framework analysis. Results: Majority (73%) of the participants had adequate oral health knowledge. About 76% of the respondents agreed to the positive statements towards oral health. Focus Group Discussions revealed negative attitude towards dental treatment during pregnancy. Adequate oral health practice was found in majority of the participants (72%). Levels of education and marital status of the participants were found to be strongly associated with oral health practice (p-value < 0.05). Conclusions: Majority of the participants had overall adequate knowledge, practice and positive attitude towards oral health. However, unsatisfactory knowledge on possible connections between bleeding guand pregnancy and negative attitude towards dental visits were noted. Level of education was significantly associated with oral health practice and attitude. Dental visits from the first stages of pregnancy should be part of antenatal care clinic in this community.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com