Prenatal examination behavior of Southeast Asian pregnant women in Taiwan: a questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: There is growing concern about the factors affecting the prenatal examinations of immigrant women.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the knowledge of pregnancy, attitude toward pregnancy and experience of medical services, and prenatal examination behavior of pregnant Southeast Asian women in Taiwan.

DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study with a structured questionnaire administered to participants.

SETTING: Participants were recruited from the community health centers in Kaohsiung County, Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS: The sampling criteria were as follows: each subject was to (a) have come from a Southeast Asian country, (b) be over 28 weeks pregnant to less than one year postpartum, (c) be able to communicate either in Mandarin or Taiwanese, and (d) be willing to participate in the research after hearing an explanation of it. As a result, 140 participants were recruited. A total of 132 participants completed the questionnaire and were used for data analysis.

METHODS: The participants completed structured questionnaires, which included the Demographic Inventory Scale, Knowledge of Pregnancy Scale, Attitudes toward Pregnancy Scale, Experience of Medical Services Scale and the Prenatal Examination Behavior Scale.

RESULTS: Findings show that 80.3% of the subjects attended their first-time prenatal examination during the first trimester and 59.1% of the subjects evaluated their prenatal examinations as being adequate. Their attitude toward childbearing was significantly correlated with their prenatal examination behavior, including the initial time of prenatal examination and frequencies of prenatal examinations during pregnancy. Positive attitudes toward childbearing and prenatal examination, and the number of years spent in Taiwan were all significant predictive factors of frequencies of prenatal examinations during pregnancy. The findings of this study can not only help healthcare professionals understand the prenatal examination behavior and related factors of the participants, but also provide guidance to healthcare professionals as they assist these pregnant Southeast Asian women in Taiwan in developing childbearing and family plans.

CONCLUSION: The attitude toward childbearing of the participants was significantly correlated with their prenatal examination behavior. They require professional help in seeking out appropriate medical services that will improve their healthcare quality during pregnancy.