Pregnant women encounter many pregnancies related medical complications after a rise in maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities particularly under-resourced the health-oriented behaviour of pregnant women is worrisome. This study aimed at assessing the health-seeking behaviour of pregnant women in the Old Tafo municipality of Ghana so that measures would …
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Pregnant women encounter many pregnancies related medical complications after a rise in maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities particularly under-resourced the health-oriented behaviour of pregnant women is worrisome. This study aimed at assessing the health-seeking behaviour of pregnant women in the Old Tafo municipality of Ghana so that measures would be taken to address the challenges to pregnant women health-seeking in the municipality. This quantitative study used a descriptive cross-sectional design to recruit 340 pregnant women using a simple random sampling technique. A well-validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data one on one with respondents. Data collected were entered and managed by excel and exported to SPSS version 26). Descriptive statistics, the associate using Chi-Square Test, and logistic regression were conducted at a 95% level of confidence and an alpha value less than 0.05, an association between the dependent and independent was deemed statistically significant. It was found that 7.3% of pregnant women demonstrated poor health-seeking behaviour. Contributing factors such as age (25-30) years, non-formal, basic, and secondary education of pregnant women predict seeking behaviour . A woman’s husband’s influence on health decisions and level of education influenced their poor behaviour. Obstetric factors such as the first trimester of pregnancy and history of one or two abortions also predicted the health-seeking behaviour of pregnant women. The over waiting time of pregnant women at a facility in addition to co-payment for services also predicted health-seeking behaviour. In conclusion, a significant proportion of pregnant women in the municipality had poor health seeking. Implementation and intensification of education on behaviour change programs to healthcare authorities in the municipality to pregnant women would help improve their poor health-seeking behaviour. Again, considering an alternative option for co-payment of services and reducing client waiting time would also motivate pregnant women develop positive attitudes towards their health-seeking.
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