Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Hepatitis B among Expectant Mothers Seeking Antenatal Care in a Tertiary Care Hospital in a Metropolitan City

Abstract

Background: Mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) is one of the common modes of Hepatitis B transmission.Though there is improved childhood Hepatitis B vaccination in India, MTCT accounts for about 50% of newHepatitis B infection. Preventing MTCT is of utmost importance for decreasing the feet of Hepatitis B. Preventionrequires expectant mothers to be aware of the disease and to understand the consequences of Hepatitis Btransmission to their child. The study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towardsHepatitis B among the expectant mothers seeking antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan city.Methods: After obtaining Ethics clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee, this cross sectional study wasconducted among 163 expectant women attending the outpatient and inpatient department of Obstetrics andGynecology of a tertiary care centre. Data collection was done using a study questionnaire and analysis was doneusing IBM SPSS version 26.0Results: Forty nine percent of the 163 participants were aware about hepatitis B infection. Only 7% were awareof mother to child transmission. Socio-demographic factors like age, education, socioeconomic status werestatistically significantly associated with awareness regarding Hepatitis B, but the gravid status was not. None ofthe women were aware of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP) launched by the Governmentof India and its provisions.Conclusions: The need for creating awareness regarding Hepatitis B among expectant mothers exists, since asubstantial number of females lack knowledge and positive attitude which reflects as poor practices towardsHepatitis B.