Knowing the fetal gender and its relationship to seeking prenatal care: results from Jordan.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between knowing fetal gender and seeking prenatal care.


METHODS
Four-hundred and eighty-four postpartum mothers identified before discharge from the maternity unit participated in this study. We collected data from the women using two sources: a demographic data questionnaire and reviews of hospital records. The number of prenatal care visits during pregnancy was determined to assess the adequacy of prenatal care. In the current study, we defined less-than-adequate prenatal care as less than nine prenatal care visits.


RESULTS
The data showed that Jordanian women had a strong preference for male babies. The findings suggested that knowing the fetal gender was significantly related to the mean number (7.01+/-2.75) of prenatal care visits by the mother. When the prenatal gender was known the mean number of prenatal care visits of women pregnant with male fetuses (8.91+/-1.25) was significantly higher than that of female fetuses (5.32+/-2.64). Knowledge of fetal gender may thus increase the risk of less-than-adequate care among pregnant women with female fetuses (52.7%) compared to male fetuses (29%).


CONCLUSIONS
Jordanian women had a strong preference for male babies. Given prenatal knowledge of the gender is related to adequate prenatal care seeking behavior.
Al-Akour
Nemeh Ahmad
NA
Maternal-Child Health Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan. alakour@just.edu.jo
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007597:Jordan; D008297:Male; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D055815:Young Adult