title: Mother's awareness and attitudes towards prenatal screening for Down syndrome in Muslim Moroccans.
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.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to explore the awareness and attitudes of women who have a child with DS regarding prenatal screening for DS.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who have a child with DS have low awareness of existing screening tests for the condition but have a positive attitude towards them.
authors.affiliation: Mohammed V University - Souissi, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco; Tératovigilance Research Team, Mohammed V University - Souissi, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belahcen
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taloubi
authors.forename: Sana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chala
authors.forename: Amal Thimou
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Izgua
authors.forename: Asmaa Mdaghri
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Alaoui
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires