Knowledge, Practice towards Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at Nyamagana Health Centre in Mwanza Tanzania

Background: Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR) is a key component of globally accepted safe motherhood programs, including those in Tanzania. BPACR helps to ensure that women deliver safely when labor begins and reduces complications during labor. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge and practice towards birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Nyamagana Health Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania. Method: This study used a quantitative cross-sectional facility-based design to assess birth preparedness among pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in Mwanza-Tanzania. A total of 107 pregnant women were selected randomly and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to generate frequencies and proportions, and the Chi-square test was used to test the association of independent and dependent variables. Result: In this study of 107 pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in Mwanza, Tanzania, (89.7%) of the women responded. Almost half (60%) of the women had poor knowledge of danger signs and birth preparedness, 26% had fair knowledge, and only 14% had adequate knowledge. The mean percentage of knowledge on obstetric danger signs was 42.7% during pregnancy, 42.8% during labor, and 32.3% during the postpartum period. Conclusion: Pregnant women in Mwanza, Tanzania have low levels of knowledge about danger signs and birth preparedness. This is a concern because it can lead to delays in seeking care for pregnancy complications and childbirth emergencies. To address this problem, we need to strengthen antenatal care services and provide women with access to reliable information about danger signs and birth preparedness, training antenatal care providers to educate women on danger signs and birth preparedness.