How much do antenatal care attendees in a tertiary hospital in Jos, north central Nigeria know about gestational diabetes?

Abstract

Background-The increasing prevalence of GDM has attracted global concern. The associated hyperglycaemia is a source of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Knowledge of GDM is known to prevent complications to mother and baby through adoption of life style modification behaviour and good health seeking behaviour.
Methodology- It was a cross sectional study conducted over a 3 month period. Women were recruited into the study from the antenatal clinic. A structured questionnaire was used to extract information from the respondents. Data was analyzed with EPI INFO 3.5.4 CDC Atlanta, USA.
Results- The response rate was 96.2%. The mean age of the respondents was 29±6 years. Only 2% had no formal education while 46.6% had tertiary education. Most of the women (55.3%) were unemployed and 53.0% of the women were multiparous. The respondents generally have a good knowledge of GDM with an average score of 9±3. The awareness on GDM and its risk factors and awareness on screening and treatment were good. Only 41.5% of the women knew GDM resolves after pregnancy. Knowledge on the other  consequences of GDM was good. Health professionals and friends and family served as source of information on GDM in 80.9 and 60.1% of the women respectively.
Conclusion- the knowledge of antenatal women in our centre is good. Continuous training of health workers and women empowerment are strategies that can maintain and improve this knowledge.

Key words: Gestational diabetes, Antenatal care attendees, Knowledge