Attitude of Reproductive Healthcare Providers to Prenatal Diagnosis in a Low Resource Nigerian Setting.

Introduction: Prenatal diagnosis comprises all diagnostic modalities aimed at gaining information about the embryo or fetal wellbeing. It enables antenatal care tailored to the individual need(s) of the fetus.

Aim: To determine the knowledge, practice and prospect of prenatal diagnosis among reproductive health care providers in Abakaliki, Nigeria.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which completely filled self-administered semi-structured questionnaires were retrieved from 182 reproductive healthcare providers at Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA). The questionnaires contained 17 items covering the socio-demographic data, knowledge, practice and prospects of prenatal diagnosis among the respondents.

Result: A total of 179 respondents (98.4%) were aware of the prenatal diagnosis. One hundred and sixty four (90.1%) of the respondents agreed that, prenatal diagnostic services is offered in the study centre and 97% of these respondents cited ultrasound scan as the prenatal diagnostic investigation. While 133 respondents (73.1%) would allow parents to decide the next line of action after due counseling for the diagnosis of a condition not compatible with extrauterine life was made, 23(12.6%) of the respondents would offer termination of the pregnancy. Among the respondents, 173(95.1%) would encourage prenatal diagnosis at the study centre and 153(88.4%) of the 173 respondents would do so by educating the populace on the benefits of the procedure. However, 2(1.1%) of the respondent would not encourage the practice of prenatal diagnosis in FETHA citing adverse effects on the woman and her fetus.

Conclusion: Reproductive healthcare providers in Abakaliki have a high level of awareness and favorable disposition to prenatal diagnosis. However, prenatal diagnosis is still rudimentary in this environment.