Congenital Anomalies among Children: Knowledge and Attitude of Egyptian and Saudi Mothers

Abstract

A congenital anomaly is defined as any abnormality of physical structure found at birth or during the first few weeks of life; or any irreversible condition exiting in a child before birth. The aim of the current study was to assess Egyptian and Saudi mothers' knowledge and attitude regarding congenital anomalies among children as well as to detect the differences between Egyptian and Saudi mothers' knowledge and attitude. A descriptive comparative research design was utilized in the study. A convenient sample of 100 Egyptian and 100 Saudi mothers wasparticipated in the study. The study was conductedin the pediatric surgical wards and pediatric surgery outpatients' clinics in both Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital and King Fahad University Hospital in Al Khobar,in Saudi Arabia.The data were collected using structured interview schedule developed by the researchers it contained three parts; the first one related to sociodemographic characteristics of mothers and their children; the second one composed of mothers’ knowledge about congenital anomalies and the third one concerned with mothers’ attitude. The study's results revealed that more than three quarters of Egyptian mothers had satisfactory level of knowledge regarding congenital anomalies among children compared to fifty one percent of Saudi mothers. The highest percentages of both Egyptian and Saudi Mothers expressed negative attitude regarding congenital anomalies among children.There was highly statistically significant difference between Egyptian and Saudi mothers’ level of knowledge regarding congenital anomalies among children. While, there was no statistically significant difference between Egyptian and Saudi mothers’ general attitude regarding congenital anomalies among children. The study results recommended that health promotion programs should be directed to premarital counseling and preconception reproductive health and primary prevention of congenital anomalies.

Key words:Congenital anomalies - Egyptian and Saudi mothers- knowledge and attitude