Mother's awareness and attitudes towards prenatal screening for Down syndrome in Muslim Moroccans

• Published in: Prenatal diagnosis 2014-09, Vol.34 (9), p.821-830
• Main Authors: Belahcen, Amina, Taloubi, Meriem, Chala, Sana, Thimou Izgua, Amal, Mdaghri Alaoui, Asmaa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Down Syndrome - diagnosis; Female; Health Care Surveys; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Islam; Male; Middle Aged; Morocco; Mothers - psychology; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0197-3851; 1097-0223
• DOI: 10.1002/pd.4373

ABSTRACT Background Abortion is prohibited and penalized in Morocco. On the other hand, there is no strategy or consensus for prenatal screening for Down syndrome (DS) included into the Moroccan pregnancy monitoring national program. Objectives This study aims to explore the awareness and attitudes of women who have a child with DS regarding prenatal screening for DS. Patients and methods This is an observational study based on a knowledge, attitude, and practice survey. Results Fifty women who have a child with DS agreed to participate in this survey. Although nearly two‐thirds of women had not heard of DS or knew what prenatal screening is prior to the birth of the affected child, the majority felt that screening for DS would be useful in the first (84%) or second (90%) trimester. In line with this, most responders would agree to undergo first trimester (84%) or second trimester (80%) screening in a future pregnancy. Most (94%) of the women felt that information on DS screening should be provided to all Moroccan women in early pregnancy and that a public health program for prenatal screening should be established (94%). Deficit in knowledge was detected in awareness that first trimester ultrasound may allow screening for DS. Conclusion Women who have a child with DS have low awareness of existing screening tests for the condition but have a positive attitude towards them. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. What's already known about this topic? The Moroccan health plan does not include prenatal screening for Down syndrome (DS), and access to amniocentesis and cytogenetic studies are very limited. Moreover, termination of pregnancy is illegal. What does this study add? Moroccan women who have a child with DS have little awareness of availability of prenatal screening. Their attitude is positive towards both first and second trimester screening tests for DS.