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Name: Linda Holmes

Date: December 8, 2021.

To evaluate the health awareness for Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending

Antenatal services.

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To evaluate the health awareness for Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending

Antenatal services.

Introduction

How well informed are pregnant women who attend Antenatal services on their health concerning

Hypertension? Hypertension which is also known as high or raised blood pressure is a medical

condition that has been affecting many people globally. According to World Health Organization

(2020), approximately 1.13 billion people suffer from hypertension worldwide whereby 1 out of 5

people are women. Women especially from low and middle-income countries are in great danger

of suffering from Hypertension, many of them take time to notice the symptoms and may live with

the medical condition for a long time. Pregnant women are encouraged to attend Antenatal services

to assess and allow medical practitioners to detect and manage any risky conditions associated with

pregnancy and childbirth.

However, many pregnant women don’t have adequate knowledge on medical conditions like

Hypertension, Singh et al (2014) claim that the medical condition is common among pregnant

women and occurs when their blood pressure raises. Most pregnant women attend Antenatal

services to be informed on the pregnancy and childbirth but ignore information on any other

medical risk, very few know the signs and symptoms of Hypertension as well the implication it

may cause to them and the unborn child. Therefore, the main objective of the research will be to

evaluate the health awareness for Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending Antenatal

services.

The researchers hope to fill the gap in the study of hypertension among pregnant women by

establishing relevant knowledge that may help in creating more awareness on the topic. To achieve

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this, the study evaluated how much information pregnant women knew about Hypertension and

enlighten them on the importance of understanding Hypertension during pregnancy, how to

prevent Hypertension during pregnancy, the most common hypertension disorder seen in

pregnancy, and how hypertension affects pregnancy. The main limitation of the research was

justifying the sample size considering that there is a huge population of pregnant women attending

Antenatal services. The research observed ethics effectively by ensuring that no one was harmed or

suffered adverse consequences from research activities.

The study provides a current literature review on the topic related to health awareness for

Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending Antenatal services. Five relevant and current

articles related to the research topic are analyzed to provide a broad understanding of the topic. The

study justifies the methods used in conducting the research, methods of data collection and

analysis, research findings, and then concludes by evaluating the usefulness of the study and

identifying its practical implications.

Literature review.

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the health awareness for Hypertension in pregnancy

among women attending Antenatal services. Berhe et al (2020) claim that in Tigray regional state,

Ethiopia, one of the leading causes of maternal mortality is Pregnancy-induced hypertension. The

author noted that pregnant women were never educated on the issue of Hypertension and maybe

that's why the medical condition killed many. The major stakeholder in creating awareness

concerning Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending Antenatal services are supposed to

be healthcare providers but as Berhe et al (2020) note, they need to improve by reaching out to as

many as pregnant women in the community especially those with no formal education, low

economic status, and housewives.

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Deaths among pregnant women are caused by different medical conditions and witnessed daily but

Ouasmani et al (2018) claim one of the main causes of maternal mortality worldwide is

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP). The author justifies that HDP may be reduced if

proper health awareness is created among pregnant women during antenatal care attendance. The

author noted that Moroccan women had very little or no knowledge concerning hypertensive

disorders of pregnancy, Pregnant women can be helped to reduce the HDP complications by letting

them know the signs and symptoms of HDP.

According to Mayo Clinic (2021) weekly update, High blood pressure and pregnancy may not be a

big issue if pregnant mothers are educated on how to take care of themselves. This may be

achieved by creating awareness to pregnant women on the potential risks they may face during

pregnancy related to Hypertension. The weekly update highlighted the risks to include decreased

blood flow to the placenta, placental abruption, intrauterine growth restriction, injury to your other

organs, premature delivery, and future cardiovascular disease.

Many pregnant women don’t know much about Hypertension but they can be helped on how to

prevent it during pregnancy by embracing simple lifestyle changes. Eske (2018) argues that

Hypertension simply means experiencing high blood pressure and pregnant women can be advised

accordingly during their Antenatal attendance. Some of the ways Eske (2018) notes that pregnant

women can use to prevent or reduce Hypertension include taking less salt, drinking a lot of water

to stay hydrated, feeding on a balanced diet that is rich in plant-based foods, and avoiding

processed foods, a lot of exercises, regular prenatal checkups, and avoid smoking and drinking

alcohol.

Pregnant women face a lot of challenges and disorders during pregnancy but many don't

understand the issues well. Effective awareness is necessary as it can reduce such issues and even

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deaths experienced due to Hypertension complications, Mammaro et al (2009) argue that 2-3% of

pregnancies are reported to have complications related to Hypertension. The authors note that

pregnant mothers need to know how Hypertensive disorders are classified during pregnancy, they

include chronic, preeclampsia-eclampsia, preeclampsia superimposed on chronic, and gestational

hypertension.

Research Methods

The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods since both numeric and

words are used for data analysis. A quantitative method was used to identify the percentage of

pregnant women who knew about Hypertension during their pregnancy and secondary sources of

data such as medical clinic websites were used, for example, Mayo clinic. The qualitative research

method was very essential in providing relevant data and helped in creating pictures and exploring

how and why pregnant women viewed the topic of Hypertension.

Methods of data collection and analysis.

Data were collected using online surveys as well as self-administered questionnaires. Pregnant

women attending Antenatal services and Healthcare workers from different healthcare facilities

were the respondent. The questionnaire was structured having two parts depending on the

respondent. Each part comprised several sections; the first section focused on the demographic

information while the other sections focused on different questions based on the objectives of the

study where both structured and unstructured questions were used. Data were entered into

Microsoft Excel, coded, analyzed, and variables presented in form of tables, charts, and graphs.

Research findings.

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1. Pregnant women with primary level education and above seemed to know much about

Hypertension compared to those with no education.

2. Preeclampsia, eclampsia, and high blood pressure are the common types of hypertension

suffered by Pregnant women diagnosed during their pregnancy as they attend Antenatal services.

3. Signs and symptoms of pregnant women diagnosed with hypertension differ from each other

and they are noted from twenty weeks of pregnancy.

4. The major risks faced during pregnancy related to Hypertension include decreased blood flow to

the placenta, placental abruption, intrauterine growth restriction, injury to your other organs,

premature delivery, and future cardiovascular disease.

5. Some of the ways that pregnant women can use to prevent or reduce Hypertension include

taking less salt, drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated, feeding on a balanced diet that is rich in

plant-based foods and avoiding processed foods, a lot of exercise, regular prenatal checkups, and

avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.

Conclusion.

The study achieved the main objective of the research which was to evaluate the health awareness

for Hypertension in pregnancy among women attending Antenatal services. It was noted that very

few pregnant women knew much about Hypertension which made the study to be relevant having

highlighted some of the essential topics related to the research. The study has outlined that creating

awareness among pregnant women can prevent or reduce Hypertension and other related

complication. The study has urged relevant stakeholders especially healthcare workers to educate

pregnant women during their Antenatal services not only on how they can ensure that the

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pregnancy doesn’t harm them and keep the developing baby healthy but also on issues related to

Hypertension.

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References

Berhe, A. K., Ilesanmi, A. O., Aimakhu, C. O., & Bezabih, A. M. (2020). Awareness of

pregnancy-induced hypertension among pregnant women in Tigray Regional State,

Ethiopia. The Pan African Medical Journal, 35.

Eske J., (December 12, 2018). What to know about high blood pressure during pregnancy?

Medical News Today.

Irian, V. N., & Rasipin, B. S. Preeclampsia Tree Educational Model for Pregnant Women as an

Effort to Change Preeclampsia Prevention Behavior.

Mammaro, A., Carrara, S., Cavaliere, A., Ermito, S., Dinatale, A., Pappalardo, E. M., ... & Pedata,

R. (2009). Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Journal of prenatal medicine, 3(1), 1.

Mayo Clinic (2021). High blood pressure and pregnancy. Mayo Clinic.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/

pregnancy/art-20046098

Ouasmani, F., Engeltjes, B., Haddou Rahou, B., Belayachi, O., & Verhoeven, C. (2018).

Knowledge of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy of Moroccan women in Morocco and

the Netherlands: a qualitative interview study. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 18(1), 1-11.

Singh, S., Ahmed, E. B., Egondu, S. C., & Ikechukwu, N. E. (2014). Hypertensive disorders in

pregnancy among pregnant women in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. Nigerian medical

journal: journal of the Nigeria Medical Association, 5, 384–388. Doi.org/10.4103/0300-

1652.140377

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World Health Organization (2020). Hypertension. World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/hypertension#tab=tab_1