1 Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
2 Department of Public Health, Akramaman Health Centre, Ga West Municipal Health Directorate, Amasaman, Accra, Ghana.
3 Department of Population and Reproductive Health, Mana Mission Hospital, Accra, Ghana.
4 Department of Public Health, Disease Control Unit, Ghana Health Service, Ada West District, Sege, Ghana.
5 Department of Population and Reproductive Health, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
6 Department of Public Health, Community Health Nursing Training College, Akim Oda, Ghana.
7 Department of Public Health, Assin Fosu Municipal Health Directorate, Ghana.
8 Department of Health Information Management, Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, Bauchi State, Nigeria.
9 Department of Public Health, Abuakwa South Municipal Health Directorate, Ghana.
* Corresponding Author
ORCID Details
John Kwame Agbenyeavu: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3643-1311
Michael Oppong Yeboah: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0992-9595
Samira Mastura Sulleman: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2736-9308
Jerdu Bin-eranaa Nuhu: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3156-4793
Oscar Vetsi: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8456-1184
Rebecca Tricia Morrison: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4071-5314
Boaz Ahulu: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8116-0496
Benjamin Kwasi Amoako: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0955-3678
Abubakar Alhassan: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1240-8836
Porbilla Ewura Ofosu-Apea: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8259-8048
Richard Kwaku Essien: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5932-0193
Eric Addo Owusu: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2631-3542
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2026, 32(01), 1165–1176
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2026.32.1.2659
Received on 10 September 2026; revised on 17 October 2026; accepted on 19 October 2026
Antenatal care in Ghana reaches most pregnant women, but routine clinic talks are brief and may not produce the understanding needed for timely care-seeking. The Pregnancy School offers structured, interactive group education alongside routine antenatal care, yet its effect on knowledge has not been evaluated with a concurrent comparison group in Ghana. This study assessed the effect of Pregnancy School participation on maternal and newborn health knowledge. A controlled, non-randomised, longitudinal quasi-experimental study with an embedded qualitative component was conducted in four health facilities in the Volta and Savannah Regions. Two facilities delivering Pregnancy School supplied the intervention group and two facilities providing routine antenatal care supplied the comparison group; 225 pregnant women were recruited systematically into each group. Objective knowledge was measured with a 12-item test (score 0–12) and perceived knowledge with a self-rated scale (0–32) at enrolment and endline. The primary effect measure was the difference-in-differences (DiD) in mean objective knowledge, estimated from a linear model with a group-by-time interaction. Baseline objective knowledge was similar in the two groups (5.97 vs 5.66; p = 0.114). At endline, mean scores were 10.13 in the intervention group and 7.90 in the comparison group (p < 0.001). The DiD was +1.92 points (95% CI 1.39–2.45; p < 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.94), and every item improved by 16.4 to 18.2 percentage points more in the intervention group. Perceived knowledge showed a DiD of +2.70 points (95% CI 1.95–3.45; p < 0.001). Knowledge gain rose with session attendance, from +1.42 points among non-attenders to +5.12 points among women attending more than five sessions (p-trend < 0.001). Women attributed their learning to repetition, demonstrations, and the opportunity to ask questions. Pregnancy School was associated with a substantially greater gain in maternal and newborn health knowledge than routine antenatal care. Because programme status was determined by facility, the estimate should be confirmed in studies that randomise more facilities.
Pregnancy School; Antenatal Education; Maternal Health Knowledge; Newborn Care; Difference-In-Differences; Quasi-Experimental Study; Ghana
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John Kwame Agbenyeavu, Michael Oppong Yeboah, Samira Mastura Sulleman, Jerdu Bin-eranaa Nuhu, Oscar Vetsi, Rebecca Tricia Morrison, Boaz Ahulu, Benjamin Kwasi Amoako, Abubakar Alhassan, Porbilla Ewura Ofosu-Apea, Richard Kwaku Essien, Eric Addo Owusu and Best Ordinioha. EFFECT OF PREGNANCY SCHOOL PARTICIPATION ON MATERNAL AND NEWBORN HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE VOLTA AND SAVANNAH REGIONS OF GHANA: A CONTROLLED, NON-RANDOMISED QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2026, 32(01), 1165–1176. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2026.32.1.2659