Factors Associated with Distribution of Pre-Eclampsia and Eclampsia Among Rural and Urban Women in Child Bearing Age – A Case of Mbala General Hospital, Northern Province, Zambia

Abstract

Preeclampsia and eclampsia cases continue to rise in northern Zambia as people search for babies and continuity of clans’ survival. Due to the competitive nature of cultural demands/ myths on pregnancy and maternal socio-demographic factors (low-age, low socio-economic status, and poor health-seeking behaviour), women in rural prefer unprofessional primary health care services that are presumably affordable to them thereby, delaying in seeking for professional healthcare services. High levels of poverty in resource-limited areas have put many female adolescents at risk of falling pregnant. Thus, this study probed on the interaction between these maternal socio-demographic factors and disease distribution in both rural and urban areas with respect to various pregnancy outcomes. The study used retrospective quantitative methods in eliciting information from data sources (women, registers) in Mbala, Mpulungu, Senga, and Mungwi districts covering 3-year period (2017-2019). In all, 202 female respondents from Northern Zambia were interviewed through self-administered questionnaires. Thereafter, data were analysed using a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS v16). Findings indicate severe; socio-economic status and low maternal age affect pre-eclampsia disease distribution coupled with adverse pregnancy outcomes more in rural than urban areas. The better the socio-demographic conditions, the lower the disease distribution with good pregnancy outcomes. However, worsening maternal socio-demographic conditions may increase the incidence of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women of northern Zambia. The study recommended interventions tarred towards public health programmes such as social behaviour change and communication (SBCC) towards adolescent women and socio-economic empowerment of pregnant women in resource-limited areas. Keywords: Average ANC timing, Preeclampsia, Residency, Socio-economic, Teenage pregnancy.