Prevalence of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension among Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at Wenchi Methodist Hospital, Ghana

Pregnancy induced hypertension is the most prevalent medical problem associated with pregnancy, affecting 6-10% of all pregnancies worldwide. It is the second leading cause of maternal death worldwide. A systolic blood pressure of 140 or a diastolic blood pressure of 90mmHg or both is considered hypertension in pregnancy. In order to diagnose hypertension disorder of pregnancy, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure rises are necessary. Pregnancy induced hypertension develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women who had previously had normal blood pressure. The study’s objective was to determine the prevalence of pregnancy-induced hypertension by assessing the risk factors associated with Pregnancy induced Hypertension; knowledge level of pregnancy induced hypertension and further examined how women with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension are managed at the facility. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers and pregnant mothers attending antenatal clinic at Wenchi Methodist Hospital. 240 pregnant women were chosen using simple random sampling method. 12 health workers were chosen using purposive sampling technique. For the analysis, STATA version 14.0 was employed. The results indicate that out of 240 women recruited, the prevalence of pregnancy-induced hypertension was 8.8%. Less than half (37.5%) of pregnant women had good knowledge on pregnancy induced hypertension and its complications. 25% of health workers stated checking urine protein and 3.33% stated fasting blood sugar were the test done to check whether pregnant mothers had pregnancy induced hypertension. Despite the low prevalence of pregnancy-induced hypertension, most of these women lacked knowledge of the condition and its complications. According to the study, women who have never had the disorder are at lesser risk of getting it. Pregnant older women were more likely to experience the disease; those who do not eat fatty foods have a lesser risk of developing pregnancy induced hypertension