Abstract – Alcohol consumption in the reproductive age of women is a public health concern because of its health implications on both mother and baby. The outcome of such action is that frequent drinkers may be unaware they are pregnant until after some weeks of gestation. This study assessed the knowledge of reproductive age women on the dangers associated with alcohol consumption during or in pregnancy in the Nadowli-Kaleo District. The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. A sample size of 294 reproductive-age women were selected through a multi-stage random sampling method for the study. Data was collected through researchers’ developed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used for the analysis of data collected and chi-square statistics was utilized to test association at a significance level of 95% (0.05). Our findings showed that more than half (56.5%) of the respondents knew that alcohol consumption has some negative effects on human health including the unborn child. Alcohol consumption among women in this study was 62.6%. Low birth weight, attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, and low intelligence quotient were the major dangers identified to be associated with alcohol consumption on the unborn child. Women who had SHS education or were not pregnant were more likely than those who had no level of formal education or pregnant to know that alcohol consumption in pregnancy can cause any of the dangers associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Women generally knew that alcohol consumption has negative effects such as low birth weight, attention deficit disorder, and mental retardation on the unborn child.
Keywords: alcohol, consumption, knowledge, reproductive age, Nadowli-Kaleo
[Cite as: Danyi, M. A., and Kogi, R. (2021). Knowledge on the Dangers of Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Among Women of Reproductive Age in Nadowli-Kaleo District, Ghana. Diverse Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Pages 1-9.]
