Practices of Pica Among Pregnant Women in a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Ghana Publisher



Konlan KD¹ ; Abdulai JA² ; Konlan KD¹ ; Amoah RM⁴ ; Doat AR^{5, 6}
Source: Nursing Open Published:2020

Abstract

Aim: This study assessed the practice of pica among pregnant women in the Ho Teaching Hospital. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional. Methods: Systematic sampling technique was used to recruit 286 pregnant women. Questionnaire was used to collect data. Data entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences for analysis. Result: Of the 286 pregnant women, 21.2% and 17.8% considered white clay and ice respectively as nutritious. Prevalence of pica was 47.5%, while 44.9% of pregnant women who practised pica reported they feel uncomfortable when they do not eat pica as 63.3% considered intake of pica as harmful. Among women who received education against pica practice, 49.4% have ever taken pica as 50.9% of them with education on effects of pica were currently engaged in the activity (χ2 = 1.93 p =.17). Conclusion: Health professionals, especially midwives must intensify education on effects of pica among pregnant women. © 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.