Attitude of Pregnant and Lactating Women Towards Vaccination Against Covid-19

Qurrat ul Ain; Usmania  Sultan; Sabeen  Aslam; Naushin  Farooq; Saima  Shafiq; Maham  Farooq

doi:10.29054/apmc/2022.1203

Qurrat ul Ain Associate Surgeon, Gynecology & Obs. Department, Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan
Usmania Sultan Resident, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Federal Government Polyclinic PGMI, Islamabad, Pakistan
Sabeen Aslam Associate Surgeon, Gynecology & Obstetrics. Department, Federal Government Polyclinic PGMI, Islamabad, Pakistan
Naushin Farooq Surgeon, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Federal Government Polyclinic PGMl, Islamabad, Pakistan
Saima Shafiq Medical Officer, Department of Gynecology &Obstetrics, Federal Government Polyclinic PGMI, Islamabad, Pakistan
Maham Farooq House Officer, Department of Medicine, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29054/apmc/2022.1203

Keywords: Attitude, COVID-19, Vaccine, Pregnancy, Lactation

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of perils for humanity, especially pregnant and lactating women, who are susceptible to many complications and thus bear a major factor amongst pregnant and lactating women. Objective: To determine the attitude of pregnant and lactating women towards the vaccination of COVID-19 at a tertiary care Hospital. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings: Department of gynecology and obstetrics, federal government polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad Pakistan. Duration: December 2021 to June 2022. Methods: All pregnant and lactating women aged 18 to 45 years who visited the Gynecology OPD for a routine checkup and were willing to participate in the study were included. After taking demographic information, women were interviewed regarding the COVID-19 vaccine to observe their perceptions about the efficacy and safety of vaccines. In addition, women were interviewed regarding their acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and, for those who stated that they were not willing, their views, regarding the vaccine. All the information was collected via a questionnaire-based study proforma for the purpose of analysis. Results: A total of 300 women were assessed towards vaccination of COVID-19, out of them 51.7% were aged 18-30 years and 48.3% were aged 31-45 years. Out of all, 57.0% of women showed a positive attitude, while 43.0% of participants had a negative attitude towards vaccination against COVID-19. Attitudes toward vaccination against COVID-19, were statistically insignificant according to age, SES, and employment status (p > 0.05), while it was statistically significant according to educational status (p=0.001). Conclusion: As per the study conclusion, more than fifty percent of the women had positive attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and lactating women, while the refusal rate was still observed to be high. Illiteracy and inadequate counselling seem to be causal factors linked to the negative attitudes.