title: Knowledge and awareness of pregnant women about ultrasounsd scanning and prenatal diagnosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Antenatal screening and ultrasound scan has become an integral part of the antenatal care in the present time. The aim of this study is to accurately describe the background knowledge and awareness of pregnant women about ultrasound scan and prenatal diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  It is a clinic based cross sectional study. Four hundred women, attending the antenatal clinics, were asked to fill in a pre tested structured questionnaire. Different variables of interest were collected. Statistical Program for the social sciences (SPSS) was used for the data management.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 93.5% of the women were aware that ultrasound examination is an important investigation. They believed that it should be performed at least twice during pregnancy but were not sure about the timing of the test. Most of them felt that it was to check the growth of the baby and 97% of women considered ultrasound to be safe. However, only 26% of women had any knowledge about Down's syndrome or its screening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant women in our set-up are aware of importance of ultrasound examination during pregnancy. However, there is a need to improve public awareness of problems like Down's syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Munim
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Khawaja
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Qureshi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal