Deema Rahme, Nathalie Lahoud, Georges Hatem, Manuel Wehbe, Roula Ajrouche, Dalia Khachman
Lebanese pregnant women demonstrated moderate knowledge, generally positive attitudes toward HDP, and exhibited moderate health-related behaviors during pregnancy. Nonetheless, gaps persist, especially among women with lower education and without a family history of hypertension. These findings underscore the importance of culturally tailored educational interventions in enhancing awareness, promoting the adoption of healthy behaviors, and ultimately improving maternal and fetal outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) are major contributors to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the awareness (knowledge and attitude) and behaviors regarding HDP among pregnant Lebanese women, and to identify associated factors.
STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study surveyed 400 pregnant women across Lebanon using a validated online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of higher awareness and behavior scores.
MAIN OUTCOMES: Participants had a mean age of 29.14 ± 5.06 years, and 78.8% had a university education. Overall knowledge of HDP was moderate (Mean score 8.10 ± 4.08 out of 15), while attitude was generally positive (median 8, interquartile range [IQR] 2, out of 10), and moderate scores were noted for behaviors during pregnancy (score 9.56 ± 1.53 out of 13). Higher education, particularly a medical university degree, was a significant and independent predictor of knowledge, attitude, and behavior (p < 0.001). A family history of hypertension was significantly correlated with better knowledge (p < 0.001) and attitudes (p= 0.002). Conversely, lower educational attainment was associated with reduced knowledge and attitude scores, whereas residence in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, or North Lebanon (compared with South Lebanon) was independently associated with lower knowledge scores.
CONCLUSIONS: Lebanese pregnant women demonstrated moderate knowledge, generally positive attitudes toward HDP, and exhibited moderate health-related behaviors during pregnancy. Nonetheless, gaps persist, especially among women with lower education and without a family history of hypertension. These findings underscore the importance of culturally tailored educational interventions in enhancing awareness, promoting the adoption of healthy behaviors, and ultimately improving maternal and fetal outcomes.