Attitude, Practice, and Associated factors of pregnant women towards prenatal ultrasound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A cross- sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Prenatal ultrasound in antenatal care is widely recognised as one method of reducing maternal mortality. Pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes concerning prenatal ultrasound are thought to influence their response. However, little is known about pregnant women’s attitude and practice of prenatal ultrasound in Addis Ababa. This study aimed to assess attitude, practice and associated factors of pregnant women toward prenatal ultrasound in public hospitals of Addis Ababa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 404 pregnant women from June to July 2022 at four public hospitals of Addis Ababa. A simple random sampling and systematic random sampling were used to select the study area and eligible individuals respectively. Interview using a structured questionnaire was employed. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with attitude and practice. The odds ratio at 95% confidence interval with p-value less than 0.05% were considered statistically significant. Results: Magnitude of having positive attitude and good practice of pregnant women toward prenatal ultrasound were 71.5% and 60.6% respectively. Government employed women (AOR: 2.327; 95%CI: 1.177-4.600), ultrasound exposure for reason other than pregnancy (AOR: 2.009; 95%CI: 1.226-3.293), history of congenital anomaly (AOR: 4.82; 95%CI: 1.765-13.164) and experience of pregnancy (AOR: 2.36; 95%CI: 1.348-4.130) were significantly associated with attitude of prenatal ultrasound. Government employed (AOR=2.286; 95%CI: 1.110-4.708), ultrasound exposure (AOR= 1.893; 95%CI; 1.211-2.960), history of congenital anomaly birth (AOR= 2.444; 95%CI: 1.070-5.582), and women's knowledge of ultrasound (AOR= 2.018; 95%CI: 1.230-3.311) were significantly associated with practice. Conclusions; The level of attitude and practice toward prenatal ultrasound can be improved with increase knowledge of obstetric ultrasound scan to all antenatal women. Health professionals in antenatal care units should advise pregnant women to improve their attitude and practice that helps to have prenatal ultrasound scan as recommended by the WHO.