Author Country Study details
Abiyot (2014)[@15427] Ethiopia Awareness: 87/359 (24.2%) were aware of decreased fetal movement as an obstetric danger sign
Study area: 8 public health institutions in Mekelle City
Participants: women visiting antenatal care; 76.9% resided in urban areas. 79.1% had 1-3 pregnancies, 8.1% had 4-6, and 0.6% had 7 or more
Timeframe: December 2013 to June 2014
Anya (2008)[@15428] The Gambia Awareness: 13 out of 418 (3.1%) women were aware of “cessation of fetal movement/baby does not move” as a danger sign in pregnancy
Study area: Western Health Division; clinics are led by trained midwives and less than 3% of women receive antenatal care at private facilities
Participants: women attending 12 antenatal clinics; 346 women had one or more prior deliveries. 187 respondents were from rural areas and 231 from urban areas
Timeframe: November to December 2004
Doctor (2013)[@15429] Nigeria Awareness: 16.4% of 5,083 women were aware of absent fetal movement as an obstetric danger sign during pregnancy
Study area: the three northern Nigerian states of Katsina, Yobe, and Zamfara
Participants: all women had been pregnant within the five years prior to the survey, 59.1% of these received no antenatal care. One third of participants lived in urban areas, the rest in rural areas.
Timeframe: 2009, month not specified
Gebrehiwot (2014)[@15430] Ethiopia Awareness: 4/422 (0.95%) had experienced loss of fetal movement; 32.4% of women knew information on RFM as a danger sign in pregnancy
Study area: Mekelle hospital, a government hospital, and Ayder referral hospital in Mekelle town
Participants: pregnant women; 40% of respondents had 3+ previous pregnancies and 25.9% were pregnant for the first time. 88.7% had antenatal clinic follow up
Timeframe: November 2012 to January 2013
Hailu (2010)[@15431] Ethiopia Awareness: “Most of the focus group discussants and in-depth interview participants mentioned decreased fetal movement [and others] … as the danger signs during pregnancy”
Study area: 1 health centre, 2 upgrading health centres, 2 medium private clinics, and 2 non-governmental clinics in Aleta Wondo district
Participants: 713 women with a gestational age of at least three months; 86.7% of respondents lived in rural areas
Timeframe: 18th February to 20th March 2007
Hailu (2014)[@15432] Ethiopia Awareness: “…the most common spontaneously mentioned danger signs were… absence of fetal movement by 159 (32.8%)”
Study area: 22 health posts, 7 health centres, one general hospital in Tsegedie district, Tigray regional state
Participants: 485 women of childbearing age who gave birth in the two years prior to the survey; 430 from rural areas and 55 urban
Timeframe: 20th October 2012 to 19th June 2013
Hasan (2002)[@15433] Pakistan Awareness: 5% of 329 women were aware of decreased/absent fetal movement as a clinically important danger sign
Study area: Rehri Goth, a settlement with little access to secondary and tertiary healthcare
Participants: systematic sampling of married women of reproductive age from all sixteen sectors, women had an average of four children and 75% had their last delivery at home
Timeframe: 1999, months not specified
Mengesha (2014)[@15434] Ethiopia Awareness: when asked to mention danger signs during pregnancy, 113 (29.4%) mentioned reduced fetal movement
Study area: Debark Town, North Gondar Administrative Zone. There are five health posts, one health centre, one rural hospital
Participants: systematic random sampling of women who had attended ANC follow up during the time of the survey; 34.5% of women had no children
Timeframe: June to September 2012
Morhason-Bello (2016)[@15435] Nigeria Awareness: of 531 women, 62.3% were aware of reduced fetal movement as a danger sign during pregnancy and “almost all respondents knew that they should come to the hospital any time they noticed any of the key danger signs”
Study area: University College Hospital, a tertiary health care facility in Oyo State
Participants: random sampling of women who had attended at least one ANC session
Timeframe: not specified
Okour (2012)[@15436] Jordan Awareness: 11.7% of 350 women were aware of absence of fetal movement as a pregnancy danger sign. 26.9% received information about danger signs from a doctor or healthcare provider
Study area: public maternity centres in Zarqa
Participants: pregnant women age 15 or older who attended 1 of 4 prenatal care clinics
Timeframe: March 2010
Olagbuji (2014)[@15437] Nigeria Awareness: 47% of women demonstrated right knowledge of decreased fetal movement; 84 women (37.3%) reported knowledge of the alarm limit (fewer than 10 fetal movements in daytime period) and 52 of these women reported that they would seek care in this instance.
53.5% of women mentioned doctors as their lead source of information about fetal movement in the third trimester. 39.6% reported that they received information from their antenatal care providers to “seek immediate care when faced with variation in their perceived average fetal movement”.
80 women had knowledge of at least one adverse pregnancy outcome that may arise from decreased or excessive fetal movement; stillbirth was mentioned by 16.4% of women.
Study area: two tertiary teaching hospitals
Participants: 225 women with singleton pregnancies at ≥28 weeks’ gestation; 45.8% were nulliparous
Timeframe: 1st December 2012 to 31st January 2013
Udofia (2013)[@15438] Ghana Awareness: 22 of 483 women (4.6%) were aware of reduced fetal movement as a maternal danger sign
Study area: Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, the leading national referral centre and the only public tertiary hospital in southern Ghana
Participants: women aged 15-49 attending the postnatal clinic
Timeframe: March to December 2011