ANTENATAL CARE HEALTH LITERACY AMONG RURAL AND URBAN PREGNANT WOMEN IN MAHARASHTRA – A COMPARATIVE STUDY.

Abstract

Introduction : The global target to achieve a reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) under Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG) is less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. To accomplish this, governments are striving for a long time. However, over a period of time, it is realised that Antenatal care (ANC) literacy is also equally crucial. Hence a comparative study was conducted in rural and urban areas of Maharashtra to assess this important aspect. Aim & objectives: To assess the Antenatal health care literacy among pregnant women in Rural and Urban areas in Maharashtra. For feasibi Methods: lity purposes, a cross-sectional study was conducted at Antenatal Care Out Patient Department located at a medical college and Rural Health Training Centre attached to it. Data was collected randomly among 100 pregnant women attending the same in both settings. The data was entered and analysed in Microsoft Excel 365, and the results were presented appropriately. All the necessary permissions were sought. The study found that 80(80%) of rural Results: participants acknowledged the need for at least four visits during pregnancy compared to 53(53%) in urban areas. Only 28(28%) of women in urban areas and 22% in rural areas were aware of the danger signs of pregnancy. ANC health literacy about early registration for pregnancy care, number of ANC visits required and haemoglobin status were signicantly higher in rural when compared to urban pregnant women ( p-value < 0.0001). Only 2 (2%) from urban and 6 (6%) from rural had information about Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram while 4 (4%) & 5 (5%) from urban and rural areas were knowing about Janani Suraksha Yojana respectively. There Conclusion: is a scope to improve ANC literacy with the help of innovative strategies