The Effectiveness of the Program for the Care of Pregnancy Women for Preterm Labor on Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior at Lam Thap Hospital Krabi Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research, using a single group pretest-posttest design, aimed to study the effect of pregnancy care program on painful uterine contractions in premature labor, in terms of maternal knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Twenty-four pregnant women, with the gestational age range of 28 - 34 weeks, attending maternity clinic at the Lam Thap Hospital, Krabi Province, and receiving the pregnancy care program for two consecutive weeks, were recruited. The sample size was calculated using the G*Power program. The research instruments included: 1) a personal data questionnaire, 2) a knowledge questionnaire, 3) an attitude questionnaire, 4) a behavior questionnaire, and 5) the experimental tool, which was the pregnancy care program itself. Data were analyzed using the mean, percentage, standard deviation, and the Paired t-test. The results indicated that after participating in the program, pregnant women demonstrated significantly higher score on knowledge, attitude, and behavior (p-value < 0.001). Therefore, the program should be continuously implemented for all pregnant women in the hospital to prevent painful uterine contractions in preterm delivery and reduce complications from premature birth in a timely manner.