Pregnancy Back Pain: Its Prevalence, Pattern, and The Practice of Ergonomic Behaviors Among Pregnant Women in Rural Sule Tankarkar Local Government Area of Jigawa State Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Studies on Back pain in pregnancy have reported rates ranging from 25% and 90%, with most studies estimating that 50% of pregnant women will suffer from back pain during the course of their pregnancy. Low back is the most common region affected followed by posterior pelvic region and upper back region being the region least affected. In Nigeria, relative to the minimum wage, back pain consumes a significantly high amount of money in accessing health care thereby incurring both direct and indirect cost. Therefore, this study explored pregnancy back pain and the practice of ergonomic behaviors among pregnant women. Methodology: Three hundreds and eighty one pregnant women were recruited using Multi-stage sampling technique from eight Primary Health Care Centers of Sule Tankarkar local government. A questionnaire was used to obtain the required information. The data was analyzed using frequency and percentage to summarize the data and inferential statistic of chi square test to check association between categorical variables. Results: Majority of the participants are within the age range of 15-19 (34.9%), multiparous (70.3%) and in their third trimester (54.6%). The prevalence of back pain was 57.2% and it is mostly in the low back region (36%). Majority of the participants (44.9%) do not practice any ergonomic behavior. Conclusion: Low back pain is highly prevalent among pregnant women attending ante natal clinic in rural Jigawa State of Nigeria. Exercise during pregnancy, proper lifting techniques and ergonomics by experts could help pregnant women.