Is knowledge and attitude on epidural analgesia during labour satisfactory among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Colombo District?

Labour pain management is a major challenge in maternity care. Epidural analgesia provides safe and effective pain relief during labour. The objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and associated factors towards epidural analgesia during labour among pregnant women in Colombo region, Sri Lanka.

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This was a descriptive study conducted at two selected hospitals in Colombo Sri Lanka. The sample size was 260 and those below 18yrs were excluded. Participants were provided with a pretested questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Both knowledge and attitude were given separate scores and were categorized as ‘good’ or ‘poor’ based on their mean.

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Within the study population, 41.9% had heard of labour analgesia. Among them, only 6.7% had good knowledge and 15.6% had a positive attitude towards labour epidural analgesia. The patients with good knowledge about labour epidural analgesia had good attitude towards the procedure (p<0.05) and there was a positive association between those who had heard of analgesia and their sources of information.

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However, as the total level of knowledge and attitudes towards labour epidural analgesia was poor, it is recommended that the health care workers issue pamphlets carrying necessary information following discussions with the pregnant women. After admission they should be given clear information about risks and benefits of the procedure and a post-partum feedback would help in quality improvement