Knowledge On Motives For Alcohol Use And Its Effects On Pregnancy Related Problems Among Pregnant Women

The effects of exposure to small,moderate to high doses of alcohol are currently debated.While even small amounts have been reported to cause adverse pregnancy outcomes and neurobehavioral effects in some studies,other studies have found no negative effects.Evidence of safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the precautionary principle promoting total abstinence during pregnancy prevails in recommendations from authorities in many countries,such as the US,Canada,Australia,Iceland,France,Norway and Sweden.This area of research is still underdeveloped in many developing nations including Ghana where alcohol consumption among pregnant women is prevalent.In line with this,the purpose of this study is to examine the knowledge of the causes and effects of alcohol use on pregnant women.The following specific research objectives were formulated to guide the study:(a)identify the causes of alcohol use among pregnant women;(b)examine the relationship of alcohol use factors on pregnant women,and(c)investigate the effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant women in the Sunyani Municipality.This study used a descriptive survey research design,and a sample of 412 pregnant women was selected from pregnant women in Sunyani Municipality by a simple random sampling method.The questionnaire was the main research instrument for the study.The study employed a hierarchical multiple linear regression method to estimate the results.The method involved two steps of estimation.The first step focused on estimating the control variables(socio-economic factors)while the second step included both the control variables and the independent variables(motive for alcohol use).The study revealed that social(=0.248,p<0.01),enhancement(=0.190,p<0.01),coping(=0.197,p<0.01)and conformity(=0.143,p<0.01)motives drive alcohol use among pregnant women suggesting that the higher these motives the higher the desire for alcohol use among pregnant women in the Sunyani Municipality.In addition,the results show that alcohol use had positive effects on pregnancy related problems among pregnant women in Sunyani Municipality.Furthermore,the results of this study show that social motive,coping motive and conformity motive for alcohol use increase pregnancy related problems among pregnant women.This study revealed that the level of alcohol use truly mediates the relationship between motives for using alcohol and fatal problems(=0.209,p<0.01),maternal health problems(=0.078,p<0.10)and social problems(=0.201,p<0.01).Based on the findings,the study concluded that social,enhancement,coping and conformity motives are the drivers of alcohol use among pregnant women.The level of alcohol use among women causes fatal,maternal and social problems for pregnant women.Similarly,higher levels of alcohol use worsens the relationship between motives for alcohol use and pregnancy related problems.