The Effects of Parent School Program on Pregnant Women.

Abstract

      This quasi-experimental research, the one-group pretest-posttest design, studied the effects of parent school program on pregnant women. The study compared self-care knowledge scores, mean hematocrit (Hct), anemia rates, the proportion of pregnant women with age-appropriate weight gain, the incidence of gestational complications within the follow-up period, and satisfaction with the parenting school program. The population and sample consisted of all pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the antenatal clinic of San Kamphaeng hospital, Chiang Mai province, between May 1 to July 31,2026 totaling 31 women. The research instruments used were those used for the 12-week experimental design and those used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests, with a significance level of .05. 

      The study results showed that the overall average knowledge score before the program was 86.45, which was considered very good. After the program, it increased to 94.10, also considered very good. The mean Hct score of the sample group increased from 36.4 before participating in the program to 37.2 after the end of the program, which is within the normal range. Comparing the increase in weight of pregnant women before and after participating in the Parent School program, it was found that it had a positive effect on weight gain in pregnant women, meeting the established normal criteria (t=6.45, p<0.001). No complications occurred during pregnancy in any of the pregnant women within the study period. Satisfaction of pregnant women with the Parent School program showed an overall average satisfaction level of high (=3.87, SD=0.60).