Background Pre-eclampsia remains one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in low resource countries with weak health systems. Complications from pre-eclampsia occurs in 2–8% of pregnancies worldwide and up to 10% in developing countries. Despite the increasing complications from pre- eclampsia, there is limited data on the perception and management practices of preeclampsia in the study location. The study assessed the perception and management practices of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women from Osun State, Southwest Nigeria Patients and Methods The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional design. From a population of 2,283 pregnant women in Osun East Senatorial district a sample size of 331 was determined by multi-stage sampling technique. A validated interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the entire construct was 0.97. The respondent’s perception of pre-eclampsia was measured on 42-point rating scale and management practices were measured on an 18-point rating scale. Data was analysed and presented in frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05The respondents had a Perception mean score of 15.4 ± 4.18 while Majority (87.6%) of the respondents had low perception of pre-eclampsia. There was a statistically significant relationship between perception and management of Pre-eclampsia (r = 0.138 p = 0.012) Conclusion The Perception of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women was low. This finding underscores the need for intensified effort to improve perception of pre-eclampsia among women via health education at antenatal clinics, media channels and national education programmes to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords : Perception, Management Practices, Maternal Mortality, Pre-eclampsia, Southwest, Nigeria