Knowledge of Birth Spacing and Its Impact on Pregnancy Incidence at the Werba Health Center, Fakfak Regency

Abstract

A highrisk pregnancy poses potential dangers to both the mother and baby, often due to insufficient awareness regarding proper pregnancy spacing. This research sought to explore the connection between pregnant women's knowledge of pregnancy spacing and the occurrence of highrisk pregnancies at the Werba Health Center in Fakfak Regency. A crosssectional study was conducted with a consecutive sampling approach, involving 29 pregnant women from the Ananda Polindes. Data collection was carried out through the use of closedended questionnaires and observation sheets based on the Poedji Rochyati scoring method. The findings revealed that 48.3% of the participants had an adequate understanding of pregnancy spacing, while 60.7% experienced pregnancies classified as highrisk. Statistical analysis through the Spearman Rho test produced a pvalue of 0.001 (p < 0.05), signifying a significant relationship between knowledge of pregnancy spacing and the incidence of highrisk pregnancies, with a Spearman correlation coefficient (rs) of 0.432. The study highlights the need to enhance pregnant women’s awareness of pregnancy spacing, recommending counseling during antenatal care (ANC) and posyandu sessions as a means to reduce the occurrence of highrisk pregnancies.