Ayeni Adebusola Raphael*, Ajibade BL, Ayeni Bamidele Abiodun, Odunbaku Monsurat Oreoluwa
The expansion of psychoactive drug consumption, especially alcohol, has reached women in their fertile age, causing various medical and social challenges in the relation between drug use and mother-child health is associated with many adverse health outcomes. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, perception and beliefs of pregnant women on the effect of psychoactive substance use, and to identify the prevalence of psychoactive substance use and reasons why pregnant women use psychoactive substances during pregnancy. This was a hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional survey carried out in five (5) government owned health facilities in Owo Local Government Area. Multistage sampling was used in selecting 378 pregnant women. The instrument used for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire with a Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of 0.91 reliability done through test-retest of the instrument. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and illustrated using bar charts and frequency tables. The mean age of the respondents was 35.1 ± 12.12 years. Most of the respondents (68%) were aware of the problems associated with the use of psychoactive substances. The most frequently cited consequences of psychoactive substance use were mental disorders or learning disabilities (38.5%), baby addicted/experiences withdrawal (33.5%), miscarriage or premature birth (28.0%), low birth weight and growth problems (25.7%). Majority of the women were of the opinion that taking alcohol and other psychoactive substances is harmful to their health and their baby's health, all psychoactive substances are harmful during pregnancy and that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to lifelong disabilities in a child. However, many of the women believed that use of some substances enabled them to sleep better during pregnancy, helps to relieve nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy and that taking some substances will help their baby. The most common reasons why women use psychoactive substances mentioned by the respondents were ignorance about the outcome (93.7%), stress (82.5%), husbands’ influence (79.6%), addiction (76.2%), and participating in celebrations or social gatherings (73.5%). There was a significant relationship between level of education and usage of psychoactive substances. In conclusion, the level of psychoactive substance use is high in the study population, perhaps fueled by ignorance, stress, husband’s influence, addiction and participating in celebrations or social gatherings. There is a need for the introduction of drug abuse prevention and intervention strategies into maternal and child health services.
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