Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

118 | Maternal Health
Mothers less than 20 years of age and mothers of first-order births are more likely (79 percent
and 81 percent, respectively) to have received two or more tetanus injections during their last
pregnancy than older mothers age 35-49 (70 percent) and mothers of higher order births (71 percent
and above). Mothers in Manatuto are most likely to have received two or more tetanus toxoid
injections (92 percent) and to have had their last birth protected against neonatal tetanus (95 percent)
compared with mothers in all other districts; tetanus toxoid coverage is lowest among mothers in
Ermera and Ainaro. Education and wealth have a positive effect on whether women receive tetanus
toxoid injections. For example, 88 percent of mothers with more than secondary education received at
least two injections during their last pregnancy, compared with 68 percent of mothers with no
education. Similarly, 84 percent of mothers in the highest wealth quintile received at least two doses
of tetanus toxoid injection, compared with 68 percent of mothers in the lowest quintile.
10.5 KNOWLEDGE OF DANGER SIGNS DURING PREGNANCY
The 2009-10 TLDHS also included women’s knowledge of danger signs associated with
pregnancy. It is important for mothers and their families to recognize danger signs during pregnancy
so that they can seek timely medical care. Women who responded that they had been told about
danger signs associated with pregnancy during one of their ANC visits were asked to describe the
symptoms they associated with the need to seek immediate care.
Table 10.5 shows the percentage of women with a birth in the five years preceding the survey
who could name various symptoms that indicate the need to seek immediate care. Fifty-six percent of
women mentioned severe abdominal pain as a danger sign, 47 percent mentioned severe headache, 36
percent mentioned vaginal bleeding, 26 percent mentioned blurred vision and swelling of the hands
and face, and 11 percent mentioned convulsions.
Severe abdominal pain is most commonly reported as a danger sign by mothers more than age
20, mothers with births of order 2 and higher, Baucau residents, and those mothers with secondary
education. Note that a higher percentage of rural mothers are able to cite the various danger signs than
urban mothers, with the pattern by other background characteristics being less consistent.