Birth preparedness and complication readiness among rural pregnant women: A cross-sectional study in Udupi, Southern India

Introduction: As per the WHO estimates in 2013, about 289,000 women died of complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The present study aimed at assessing the status of birth preparedness (BP) and complication readiness (CR) among rural pregnant women and its correlates in coastal Karnataka in Southern India. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Udupi taluk. In all, 305 pregnant women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were interviewed. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to select 320 women. To achieve this sample size, of 16 clusters using simple random sampling, 20 pregnant women in the second and third trimesters were selected from each village with the help of lay health workers in the community. Results: Among 305 pregnant women, 157 pregnant women (51.47%) were prepared to face birth. The factors associated with preparedness were awareness about expected date of delivery (odds ratio [OR] = 2.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–5.35) and at least one danger sign during delivery (OR = 2.88, 95% CI: 1.28–6.51). The identification of skilled birth attendant and arrangement for transportation were high at 99% and 100%. However, only about 42.3% of the respondents had identified a health facility for an emergency. Conclusion: The low preparedness level may be due to inadequate maternal knowledge on BP/ CR practices as a result of inadequate information being provided to pregnant women. This study places emphasis on the need to plan and implement training programs for the health-care providers (ASHA, auxiliary nurse midwife’s, staff nurse) on the components of BP/CR.