Pregnant Women’s Knowledge Regarding the Practice of Antenatal Perineal Massage

Abstract

This study aimed to assess pregnant women’s knowledge regarding the benefits and practice of antenatal perineal massage (APM) and their acceptance of APM. A descriptive cross-sectional correlation design was applied to a convenience sample of 104 pregnant women who completed an online questionnaire. The online questionnaire was divided into four categories: (1) sociodemographic and obstetric history and general information about APM, (2) knowledge regarding the benefits of APM, (3) knowledge regarding the practice of APM, and (4) acceptance of APM. Data analysis was performed in SPSS v.26. Frequencies and percentages were taken from all qualitative variables. Most pregnant women had good knowledge: 78.8% had knowledge regarding the benefits of APM, 85.6% had knowledge regarding the practice of APM, and 54.8% reported acceptance of APM. There was a significant correlation between knowledge and practice of APM, indicating that a higher knowledge level leads to good practice of APM. This study highlighted participants’ significantly high amount of knowledge regarding the benefits and practice of APM. Additionally, based on the percentage of participants who had not heard about APM, the study revealed the failure of health-care providers to provide education regarding APM to pregnant women. Further research is needed to establish interventions that improve knowledge and encourage APM practice among pregnant women.

Keywords

• antenatal perineal massage
• practice of APM
• knowledge about APM
• pregnancy
• Saudi Arabia