Appropriateness of healthcare-seeking behavior for obstetric danger signs among pregnant women in a mother- and baby-friendly hospital: a cross-sectional study.
- 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Giresun University, Giresun, Türkiye. [email protected].
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Giresun University, Giresun, Türkiye.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to evaluate healthcare-seeking behaviors related to emergency obstetric conditions and the factors associated with appropriate healthcare-seeking among pregnant women followed in a tertiary healthcare institution adopting a Mother- and Baby-Friendly approach.Methods
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 337 pregnant women followed between May 1 and July 31, 2025. Data were collected using a structured, scenario-based questionnaire developed in accordance with the literature and current international clinical guidelines addressing obstetric emergencies. The instrument assessed healthcare-seeking behaviors across multiple emergency obstetric risk domains. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0.Results
Overall, 91.7% of the pregnant women demonstrated appropriate orientation to the correct level of healthcare services in emergency obstetric scenarios. Appropriate healthcare-seeking scores were significantly higher among older age groups, with younger pregnant women showing lower scores (p < 0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed the highest appropriate healthcare-seeking scores in acute and somatic risk domains, including life-threatening acute obstetric emergencies, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and systemic-metabolic-respiratory warning signs. In contrast, psychosocial and nutritional risk scenarios were associated with the lowest scores, indicating relatively lower recognition of these conditions as requiring urgent medical evaluation.Conclusion
Pregnant women followed in a mother-baby-friendly tertiary care setting demonstrate high levels of appropriate healthcare-seeking behavior for emergency obstetric conditions. However, the lower levels of awareness observed among younger women and in psychosocial and nutritional risk domains highlight the need to strengthen antenatal education and perinatal emergency care strategies with a more comprehensive and holistic focus.
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BibTeX
@article{aydemir2026appropriateness,
title = {{Appropriateness of healthcare-seeking behavior for obstetric danger signs among pregnant women in a mother- and baby-friendly hospital: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Azize Aydemi̇r and Mehmet Eki̇z},
journal = {BMC pregnancy and childbirth},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12884-026-09702-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907986},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Appropriateness of healthcare-seeking behavior for obstetric danger signs among pregnant women in a mother- and baby-friendly hospital: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Azize Aydemi̇r
AU - Mehmet Eki̇z
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC pregnancy and childbirth
DO - 10.1186/s12884-026-09702-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907986
AB - Purpose This study aimed to evaluate healthcare-seeking behaviors related to emergency obstetric conditions and the factors associated with appropriate healthcare-seeking among pregnant women followed in a tertiary healthcare institution adopting a Mother- and Baby-Friendly approach.Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 337 pregnant women followed between May 1 and July 31, 2025. Data were collected using a structured, scenario-based questionnaire developed in accordance with the literature and current international clinical guidelines addressing obstetric emergencies. The instrument assessed healthcare-seeking behaviors across multiple emergency obstetric risk domains. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0.Results Overall, 91.7% of the pregnant women demonstrated appropriate orientation to the correct level of healthcare services in emergency obstetric scenarios. Appropriate healthcare-seeking scores were significantly higher among older age groups, with younger pregnant women showing lower scores (p < 0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed the highest appropriate healthcare-seeking scores in acute and somatic risk domains, including life-threatening acute obstetric emergencies, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and systemic-metabolic-respiratory warning signs. In contrast, psychosocial and nutritional risk scenarios were associated with the lowest scores, indicating relatively lower recognition of these conditions as requiring urgent medical evaluation.Conclusion Pregnant women followed in a mother-baby-friendly tertiary care setting demonstrate high levels of appropriate healthcare-seeking behavior for emergency obstetric conditions. However, the lower levels of awareness observed among younger women and in psychosocial and nutritional risk domains highlight the need to strengthen antenatal education and perinatal emergency care strategies with a more comprehensive and holistic focus.
SN - 1471-2393
ER -