KNOWLEDGE OF WOMEN

SUPPLEMENTATION OF FOLIC ACID IN PERICONCEPTIONAL PERIOD

Abstract

Objectives: Around 50 to 70% of the neural tube defects can be prevented if a
woman consumes sufficient folic acid daily before conception and throughout first trimester of
her pregnancy. Therefore, the women should be well aware about the apt supplementation of
folic acid to mitigate those miseries that can be resulted from its deficiency. Study Design: A
descriptive survey design. Setting: Obstetrical OPDs of Lahore General Hospital, Lady Aitchison
Hospital, Jinnah Hospital Lahore, DHQ Hospital Multan, DHQ Hospital Faisalabad, and DHQ
Hospital Rawalpindi. Methodology: A total of 300 pregnant women were studied to assess the
level of knowledge and practices among women regarding use of folic acid before and during
pregnancy. Non probability convenient sampling technique was used for the purpose. Data was
collected by a self administered questionnaire and was analysed by SPSS version 20. A p-value
of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results signified that a major
fraction of pregnant women 227 (76%) were having poor level of knowledge as they scored
less than 50% on knowledge based questions in the questionnaire. Only 4% were distinguished
with excellent knowledge according to arbitrary scale, which were made-up to be a very low
percentage. Conclusion: Findings of the study suggested that the knowledge of the women
regarding folic acid supplementation is insufficient that may in response lead to increase risk for
the incidences of neural tube defect.