Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Mar;15(1):180-7.
doi: 10.4314/ahs.v15i1.24.

Knowledge of birth defects among nursing mothers in a developing country

Taiwo Akeem Lawal  1 , Oyindamola Bidemi Yusuf  2 , Akinola Ayoola Fatiregun  2
Affiliations

Knowledge of birth defects among nursing mothers in a developing country

Taiwo Akeem Lawal et al. Afr Health Sci. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Background: In the absence of established guidelines, where formal screening is unavailable for birth defects, a lot of responsibility is placed on parents in the recognition of these defects.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the awareness of mothers about birth effects in a developing country and assess what they know about the prevention, detection and treatment of children with birth defects.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 714 mothers consecutively selected at two major hospitals in Nigeria between May and December, 2012. Data were collected with interviewer administered questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS and statistical significance set at p <0.05.

Results: The participants were aged 17 to 42 years. Only 183 (25.6%) were aware of birth defects. Factors associated with awareness of birth defects were older age, religious belief, better education, higher socioeconomic class, early age at booking and registering at a tertiary care facility. Education, socioeconomic class as well as month and location of booking were found to be independent predictors of awareness of birth defects.

Conclusion: Mothers in Ibadan, Nigeria, a country without a formal newborn screening programme, have a poor level of awareness about birth defects.

Keywords: Awareness; Birth defects; Developing country; Mothers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Olusanya BO, Solanke OA. Maternal and neonatal factors associated with mode of delivery under a universal newborn hearing screening programme in Lagos, Nigeria. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2009;9:41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Newborn Screening, author. Serving the family from birth to the medical home. A report from the Newborn Screening Task Force convened in Washington DC, May 10–11, 1999. Pediatrics. 2000;106(2 Pt 2):383–427. - PubMed
    1. Fant KE, Clark SJ, Kemper AR. Completeness and complexity of information available to parents from newborn-screening programs. Pediatrics. 2005;115(5):1268–1272. - PubMed
    1. Hoffman GL, Laessig RH. Screening newborns for congenital disorders. WMJ. 2003;102(6):45–50. - PubMed
    1. Aite L, Zaccara A, Trucchi A, Nahom A, Iacobelli B, Bagolan P. Parents' informational needs at the birth of a baby with a surgically correctable anomaly. Pediatr Surg Int. 2006;22(3):267–270. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources