AN ASSESSMENT OF ALCOHOL USE AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINICS IN TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT This study assessed the use of alcohol by pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Rivers State. Using a cross-sectional study design, a systematic random sampling method was applied to select 420 eligible participants for this study. Data was collected using a web-based, semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27. Results were presented in frequency tables with percentages and calculated, prevalence, level of awareness, factors affecting alcohol use and attitude of partners. Most participants, 144(34.3%) were within the age group 30 and 34 as well, a majority 327(77.9%), (X² = 7.526, p = 0.023) have attained tertiary level of education, and 165 (39.3%,) (X² = 10.336, p = 0.016) were self-employed. The prevalence of alcohol intake during pregnancy was 34.5% (145), indicating that just over one-third of the participants reported consuming alcohol during pregnancy. More than half, 290(69%) of the participants were aware of the potential health risks related to alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Health workers were found to be the highest source of information for participants, 112(38.6%) while 242(57.6%) were able to identify the consequences of alcohol use in pregnancy, like abnormal facial features 78(32.2%), learning difficulties 48(19.8%), congenital abnormalities 30(12.4%) and neurological impairments 28(11.5%), among others. The factors associated with this study were, social gatherings 41(28.3%), cravings 38(26.2%) and stress relief 33(22.8%). Furthermore, partners were found to have played a significant role, as 82(56.6%) out of 145 participants who used alcohol said their partners were aware of their alcohol use, while 25(17.2%) reported partner support in alcohol use and 290(69.0%) had partners that disapproved of their alcohol use in pregnancy with only 24(5.7%) being encouraged by their partners to drink. The study shows that the level of alcohol consumption is high among women who are pregnant attending ante natal clinic in tertiary hospitals in Rivers State indicating that more health education intervention needs to be provided. KEY WORDS: Alcohol use in pregnancy, prevalence, level of awareness, attitude of partners