PREGNANT WOMEN WELLBEING AND WORRY DURING COVID-19 IN DURAME GOVERNMENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTIONS, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA, 2021

Abstract

Background: Merriam Webster dictionary define well-being as the state of being happy, healthy, or successful. It defines worry as to feel or show fear and concern because you think that something bad has happened or could happen. Worry among pregnant women is common due to the pregnancy by itself but this pandemic has brought its own influence on pregnant women and other peoples. During the pandemic pregnant women are concerned about their own health, their unborn baby’s health, their relatives’ health. This fear may have influence on the health of the women which may decrease the well-being of them. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess pregnant women’s well-being and worry during COVID-19 in Durame governmental health institutions, Southern Ethiopia, 2021Methods:Institution based cross-sectional study was employed from June to July 2021. The study was conducted on 218 pregnant women using the Cambridge worry scale questionnaire and the WHO-5 well-being index. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling after proportional allocation of the sampling size for each health institutions. Pregnant women attending governmental health institution in Durame town were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Finally, the data was analyzed using SPSS version25 software. RESULTS: Out of 218 respondents, 14 (6.4%) had contact history with confirmed or suspected covid-19. A total of 151 (69.3%) had high well-being and a total of 44 (20.2%) had high worry. CONCLUSIONs and RECOMMENDATION: Worry of pregnant women exist in Durame governmental health institutions so health institutions, Ethiopian minister of health and the community should work together to improve the health of the women.