The knowledge of pregnant women on hypertension in pregnancy: descriptive study

Objective: to identify the knowledge on hypertension in pregnancy among pregnant women followed up at a primary care unit for prenatal care. Methodology: this is a sectional study, with a survey design, whose population consisted of pregnant women assisted in a Health Centre in the Distrito Federal–DF, Brazil. The selection criteria were: being over 18 years, being in the first trimester of pregnancy, and voluntarily agreeing to participate in the research. After consent, a questionnaire developed by the authors was applied. The study was approved by the Committee of Ethics in Research of the Fundação de Ensino e Pesquisa em Ciências da Saúde, under the Protocol 191/09. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Results: the sample consisted of 30 women, mean age 26 years, most of them housewives. With regard to the knowledge on hypertension in pregnancy, 77.33% had heard about the issue, however, they were not able to identify aspects of prevention, risk factors, and complications of this disease. Conclusion: deficits in knowledge on hypertension in pregnancy is a risk factor of mortality for pregnant women. One expects the data from this study alert health professionals for the approach of the theme during the pre-natal consultations. Descriptors: hypertension in pregnancy; eclampsia; knowledge; pregnant women.