# Maternal information-seeking on pregnancy-induced hypertension and associated factors among pregnant women, in low resource country, A cross-sectional study design

## TL;DR

This study explores how pregnant women in a low-resource area seek information about pregnancy-induced hypertension and finds that only a third seek it, with factors like age and healthcare satisfaction influencing this behavior.

## Contribution

The study identifies key factors associated with maternal information-seeking behavior on pregnancy-induced hypertension in a low-resource setting, highlighting opportunities for targeted health education.

## Key findings

- Only 35.4% of pregnant women sought information on pregnancy-induced hypertension.
- Older mothers and those with higher healthcare satisfaction were more likely to seek information.
- Family resistance and perceived severity of the condition also significantly influenced information-seeking behavior.

## Abstract

Pregnancy-induced hypertension is the most prevalent medical problem associated with pregnancy. It has been reported to affect 6–10% of all pregnant women worldwide. Mothers’ failure to seek information related to PIH increases the risk of death from the complication of pregnancy-induced hypertension. This study aimed to assess PIH information-seeking behaviour and its associated factors among pregnant women in rural Sekela Woreda. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 15 to June 15, 2022. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The sample size was 635. A cluster sampling technique was used to select the sampled kebeles. The study population included rural pregnant women. This study included pregnant women who were permanent residents of the study area, whereas this study excluded pregnant women who were admitted only for delivery services and temporary residents who visited the study area. The mean age of the participants was 31.8 ± 6.09 years, with minimum and maximum ages of 20 and 45 years, respectively. We conducted descriptive analysis, bivariable analysis, and multivariable analysis to identify determinants of PIH information seeking. The proportion of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) information seeking among pregnant women was 214 (35.4%) out of 604. Pregnant mothers aged 35 years and above (AOR =0.67, 95% CI =0.46, 0.97), family resistance (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI =0.29, 0.69), health care satisfaction (AOR =1.7, 95% CI =1.1, 2.5), and perceived severity of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) (AOR =1.6, 95% CI =1.1, 2.4) were significantly associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension information seeking. According to our findings Information seeking related to pregnancy-induced hypertension is low. Aged mothers, family resistance, mothers’ satisfaction with health care services, and perceived severity of PIH were found to be associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension information seeking. Expanding health education programs for pregnant women and providing awareness and training about PIH to participants and their husbands is the most effective way to reduce the prevalence of PIH complications.

Pregnancy-induced hypertension is a unique kind of hypertension that happens at 20 weeks or more in pregnant individuals with or without proteinuria and comprises gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia. The most common pregnancy-related medical issue, approximately 5–10% of pregnant women, or 8 billion pregnant women, including starts, are affected; it is a cause of maternal mortality and mortality worldwide. Pregnant women who delay getting information on pregnancy-induced hypertension are more likely to die from problems related to Pregnancy-induced hypertension. Pregnant women ought to get adequate information such as miscarriage, pregnancy complications/danger signs, pregnant medications, diet, and the place of delivery. However, there is a limitation of research in limited resource settings regarding maternal information seeking on pregnancy-induced hypertension. The study found that a total of 65.47% of participants sought information once a month and 3.39% sought information daily about pregnancy-induced hypertension. Therefore, this research has a greater implication for enhancing the magnitude of maternal information seeking regarding pregnancy-induced hypertension. Finding the best source of information on pregnancy-induced hypertension complications aids in knowing where to go when pregnancy-induced hypertension complications happen, and it lowers the prevalence of its complications by lowering family resistance and increasing the severity of the case.