Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol consumption among pregnant women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Uganda has one of the highest rates of alcohol use in SSA.Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been reported as a significant global public health concern due to its deadly adverse maternal and fetal health effects. This high prevalence rate combined with limited public health resources poses a high risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP). Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with alcohol use among pregnant women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital. Methods: This was a facility based cross-sectional study conducted among 342 randomly selected pregnant women attending antenatal care at Kawempe National Referral Hospital. Data was collected using interviewer administered questionnaires. The prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy was computed as a proportion of pregnant women taking alcohol divided by the total number of women recruited to the study. To determine the factors associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy, binary logistic regression was used. Multivariable models will be generated using both logical methods and, in a backward elimination method. Both crude and adjusted odds ratios together with their 95% confidence intervals and P-values were presented. Results: We recruited 342 participants with and the majority 138(40.3%) were aged between 20 and 24 years. The prevalence of alcohol use was 44/342 (12.9 %) of the participants. Among those who used alcohol, 12/44 (37.2 %) had alcohol disorders as assessed by the CAGE questionnaire and criteria. Factors associated with alcohol use included: Having ever attempted or taken drugs of abuse (OR = 7.24, 95 % CI 2.32-22.6, p = 0.001), being catholic (OR = 4.14, 95 % CI 1.36-12.61, p-=0.012), and husband’s monthly income of over 500,000/= (OR = 9.19, 95 % CI 1.33-72.58, p = 0.024). Conclusions and recommendations: We found that the prevalence of alcohol use among pregnant women was high. Previous history of drug abuse, being catholic and high husband’s monthly income were associated with alcohol use among pregnant women. Stakeholders need mobilize health workers to increase the awareness of the pregnant women about the dangers of alcohol-use in pregnancy in order to promote community reduction in its use in this vulnerable category of pregnant women.