KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF LABOUR PAIN AMONG ANTENATAL WOMEN ATTENDING MADONNA UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITALELELE, NIGERIA

Labor pain is known to be one of the most severe painsexperienced by women in their life and this pain is influenced by a variety of factors such as parity, culture, ethnicity, educational attainment, anxiety, stress and religion. This study was designed to assess the knowledge and perception of labor pain among antenatalclients. The survey carried out examined a total of 200 consenting mothers at Madonna university teaching hospital elele Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to women comprised of sections to record socio-demographic data, knowledge, perception and coping strategies during labour pain. To measurerespondents’ knowledge on labour pain 10 questionswere used. The respondents with the score of 5 and below were categorized as low knowledge and those with above 5 marks had high knowledge. To measure respondents’ perception of labour pain 7 questions wereused. Respondents who score 0-3 were graded as havingnegative perception while those who score 4-7 hadpositive perception. Women in south East Nigeria have high knowledge and low perception of labour pain. The coping strategies of these women were very limited. Modern methods of labour analgesia should be encouraged and offered to antenatal clients who express desire for it. This will ease pain and lead to improvements in childbirth experience. ix