Male Knowledge of Danger Signs of Obstetric Complications in an Urban City in South West Nigeria

BACKGROUND Knowledge of danger signs in pregnancy can be regarded as one of the ways to eliminate the first level of delay as a factor influencing maternal mortality. The role of men as decision makers cannot be overlooked in this regard. The aim of this study was to determine men's knowledge of danger signs in pregnancy and their role in pregnancy related decision making. METHODS A cross sectional survey was conducted among 259 men aged 15-65 years in selected communities in Ibadan, Oyo State by multistage sampling. A semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, attitude and practices concerning antenatal care, knowledge of danger signs in pregnancy and decision to seek hospital care. Knowledge of danger signs was the main outcome measure categorized into poor and good based on a score of ≤ 6 and > 6. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis with level of significance set at 5%. RESULTS Mean age of respondents was 40.4 ± 11.4 years. Almost half had at least secondary education (47.5%) and were mainly artisans by occupation (59.8%), while 18.1% could not mention any danger sign. Majority had poor knowledge about danger signs in pregnancy (60.6%). There was no significant difference in knowledge of respondents within different age groups, by occupation, number of children and from different educational levels. CONCLUSION Poor knowledge of obstetric danger signs was evident among these men. Programmes targeted at providing education about danger signs in pregnancy for men are recommended.