Vlora Kurti1, Pajtim Gagica2
1The Faculty of Medicine, Branch – Midwife, Prishtina, Kosova;
2The Faculty of Medicine, Prishtina, Kosova.
Introduction: Mouth diseases are considered a big public health problem, because of their highprevalence and incidence in all regions of the world. Oral health problems during pregnancy are diseases that can be managed and controlled successfully. Unfortunately, in our country studies and statistical frequency data measured onthese problems are scarce, so integrating public health into primary care is very important.
Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge, practices and perceptions of pregnant women, on oral health.
Methodology: The study is quantitative, descriptive. It was done in Prishtina, at the University Clinical Centre of Kosova, with pregnant women who were treated in the obstetric clinic. The survey started on April 14, 2019 and lasted until June 15, 2019. The number of respondents were (N = 251) pregnant. The mean age of the subjects in the study was 26-30 years. The data collection instrument was a self-administered questionnaire. From the statistical parameters, have been realized percentage, frequency, mean, and correlation. Data analysis was done in SPSS, (Statistical for Social Sciences Version 22).
Results:Pregnant women’s knowledge on oral hygiene is presented with (49.8%) lack of prior guidance during perinatal care (36.7%), (59%) claimed that dental treatment during pregnancy was unsafe and had a negative impact on fetal health, (35.9%) of pregnant women were unaware of the possible link between oral health and pregnancy, and (49.2%) were never advised by medical staff.
Conclusion: Perinatal care monitors in primary care centers rarely give advice about the importance of oral hygiene and its impact on the health of women and fetuses.
Recommendation: To improve the quality of primary health care, the importance of oral health should be incorporated into the perinatal care program, and the role of midwives in providing oral health advice should be at the center. Increase the cooperation of health professionals
and engage in the process of interacting with the Institute of Public Health when developing Primary Health Care Plans.
Keywords: attitudes, knowledge, national public health institute, oral health, pregnancy, primary health care.