Assess the knowledge of fetal movements count among antenatal mothers in RGGWCH, Puducherry

Abstract

A woman is the first and foremost a person and, when she bears a child, becomes a mother. Pregnancy is a blessing and the birth of the baby is a momentous occasion. A fetal movement that can be felt by the mother (quickening) occurs at approximately 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy and peaks in intensity at 28 to 38 weeks. A healthy fetus moves with a degree of consistency, or at least 10 times a day. In contrast, a fetus not receiving enough nutrients because of placental insufficiency has greatly decreased movements. Based on this, asking a woman to observe and record the number of movements the fetus is making offers a gross assessment of fetal well-being.

Objectives: The objectives of the study are to assess the level of mother’s knowledge on fetal movement count.

Methodology: The research approach is Quantitative and the design is descriptive Non-experimental design. The convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample for the present study. The total sample size was 30 mothers. Permission was obtained from the concerned authority and consent was obtained from the mothers. Mothers were given a thread to put knots as per the no. of foetal movement felt by them. This was asked for two days. Other information was collected with the help of a questionnaire.

Result: The result showed that majority (50%) of the antenatal mothers are having poor knowledge of fetal movements count. 36.7% of them had the average knowledge and only 13.3% of the normal antenatal mothers had good knowledge on fetal movements count. And also the study shows that there is significant association found with level of knowledge and selected demographic variables such as age and gravida.