Abstract:
Background: Primi mothers confront various discomforts especially in their third trimester of
pregnancy. They need a good understanding of these discomforts to cope with the pregnancy
and the delivery.
Objectives: To assess knowledge of discomforts and coping strategies of primi mothers during
the third trimester in Teaching Hospital, Kandy and General Hospital, Badulla.
Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, a convenient sample of 150 primi mothers in the
third trimester was recruited from Teaching Hospital, Kandy and General Hospital, Badulla. A
pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Ethical clearance was
obtained from the ethical review committees of the two hospitals. Data were analyzed using
descriptive statistics with SPSS (version 22).
Results: Most of primi mothers (79%) were in the age group of 18-32years. Results revealed
that 46% (n=69) of the mothers were aware of pregnancy and labor such as physiological
changes, pregnancy symptoms, labor pain, and the labor process. Most mothers (87%) had
knowledge of minor discomforts such as nausea, vomiting, and faintishness, and emotional
discomforts. Majority (66%) of mothers were aware of fetal wellbeing such as quickening, and
weight gain. Mothers‟ knowledge of comfort measures such as massaging, positioning,
breathing exercise and pain killers were 78%. Most mothers (69%) used non-pharmacological
coping strategies such as posturing, massages, muscle relaxation techniques and breathing
exercises. Further, this study found 56% of mothers had good social support, acceptance, and
social assurance that were used as coping strategies.
Conclusions: Primi mothers have an overall knowledge of various discomforts in the third
trimester but have relatively fewer coping skills to face them. Hence further health education is
recommended to promote social support and non-pharmacological strategies among primi
mothers in the third trimester.
