Website-Based Antenatal Education and Changes in Knowledge and Attitudes among Pregnant Women in Rural Indonesia

Abstract

Digital antenatal education may extend pregnancy counseling beyond conventional classes. This quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study assessed an antenatal education website, EDUMIL, among 80 first-trimester pregnant women at Talun Primary Health Center, Pekalongan, Indonesia, in 2025. Forty women accessed EDUMIL, a website combining antenatal care information, visit monitoring and WhatsApp appointment reminders; 40 comparison participants attended standard pregnancy classes. Participants were recruited purposively from different villages. Knowledge and attitude scores were assessed before and after education. Mean knowledge increased from 7.83 ± 1.45 to 12.50 ± 1.65 in the EDUMIL group and from 7.93 ± 1.23 to 11.38 ± 1.15 in controls. Mean attitude scores increased from 61.83 ± 7.89 to 71.93 ± 5.03 and from 62.05 ± 8.13 to 65.20 ± 7.37, respectively. Mean changes favored EDUMIL for knowledge (4.68 versus 3.45) and attitude (10.10 versus 3.15); the reported Mann–Whitney p values were <0.001 for both comparisons. The intervention was associated with larger improvements in knowledge and attitude scores, but village-level nonrandom assignment and lack of observed antenatal attendance outcomes limit causal and behavioral conclusions.