Abstract:
Introduction: Preconception care (PCC) is the provision of biomedical, behavioral, and
social health interventions to women and couples before conception occurs. It prevents
maternal and perinatal complications and increases the possibility of healthy couples and
healthy offspring.
Objective: To assess the knowledge of preconception care among eligible women in the
Nallur MOH area, Sri Lanka.
Methodology: This was a community-based descriptive cross-sectional study among 422
eligible women. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection.
The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.
Results: The response rate was 100%. The mean age was 25.5 (SD=±2.259) years. The
majority (96.2%) of them were Tamils and Hindus (86.7%). All participants were married,
and the mean age of marriage was 20.4 years. 53.6% of them were from the nuclear family.
55.9% of them were aware of preconception care. Nearly 60% of the participants were
aware of the targeted group of PCC. Most of them thought providing folic acid
supplementation was the only objective of PCC, and the majority (60.4%) were aware of
when to start it and the importance of it (76.3%). 38.9% of them knew the recommended
age range for women for childbearing. Only 20.6% of participants were aware of the
recommended BMI range for women for childbearing. 54.5% of them believed that
personal hygiene could prevent sexually transmitted infections. Only 20.1% of participants
knew their blood group was screened during PCC. The majority of them were aware that
smoking (67.1%) or passive smoking (45.0%) is harmful during PCC. Only one-third of
them had overall good knowledge, and the rest had poor knowledge of PCC.
Conclusion: Knowledge of preconception care is inadequate for the participants in the
Nallur MOH area. It is important to conduct health education programs on preconception
care in order to increase the awareness of eligible women.
