Abstract:
Background: Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction,
contentment, and fulfillment. During pregnancy happiness gives the women a potential ability to cope
any complications. It is also useful for a baby’s health during perinatal period. Lower levels of
happiness and well-being have been shown to increase mortality and the likelihood of developing
chronic diseases. Hence these paper need to assess level of happiness and its associated factors
among pregnant women who are attending antenatal care follow-up in public health
institutions of Debre Berhan town, north shewa, Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the level of happiness and its associated factors among pregnant women who are
attending antenatal care follow-up in public health institutions of Debre Berhan town, north shewa,
Ethiopia, 2023.
Method: Institution based Cross- sectional study design was conducted in Debre Berhan health
facilities from April1-30, 2023. A simple random sampling technique was applied to select the health
facilities. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select participants. The total sample size
was 498 and collected from five health facilities. The Oxford Standard Happiness Questioner (OSHQ)
was used to gather the data. Data were collected using a pretested interviewer-administered
questionnaire which was adapted from previous related studies. The reliability score and its
Cronbach’s alpha are 0.841. Three data collectors and 1 supervisor were assigned. Data were
collected after the women get their antenatal care. SPSS version 25 was utilized for the analysis.
Binary logistic regression was used to analyses relationships between dependent and independent
variables. To interpret the results, descriptive statistics, adjusted OR, and 95% CI were used.
Result: A total of 484 pregnant women were participated in this study. The prevalence of low level of
happiness among pregnant women in this study was 49.4% (95%CI; 44.6-54.1). Women who have no
formal education (unable to read and write) (AOR 4.035, CI 95%, 1.368-11.9), women who are
unemployed (AOR 2.638, CI95%, 1.321-5.265) and receive strong social support (AOR 0.053,
CI95%, 0.027-0.106) respectively were the most indicators for low level of happiness during
pregnancy.
Conclusion: Almost half of the respondents have low level of happiness. Maternal educational
level, occupation and social support were the most significant variables for low level of
happiness. Increasing the level of maternal happiness during pregnancy by assessing and eliminating
the factors that associate with it is our responsibility during antenatal care of follow-ups.
Keywords: happiness, pregnancy, women, level, associated factors.
