Knowledge, practice and some related factors on prevention of birth defects of mother with children under 6 months old in Mai Son district, Son La province in 2023

Abstract

A cross - sectional descriptive study was conducted on 220 mothers with children under 6 months old to describe the knowledge and practice of mothers on prevention of birth defects and some related factors in Mai Son district, Son La province, in 2023. Research results showed that 70.0% of mothers had good knowledge of birth defect prevention, 63.9% of mothers had successful practice of birth defect prevention. There was a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) in some groups of factors such as groups of mothers with a high level of education, groups with occupations of civil servants, and groups with good household economic conditions had a higher rate of general knowledge and practice on prevention of birth defects than mothers with low education levels or mothers who were farmers or group of mothers whose family economic conditions were at the poor level. In general, there was still a high rate of general knowledge and practice on prevention of birth defects that had not been achieved. It is necessary to strengthen communication activities and innovate appropriate communication methods for each target group about prevention of birth defects, especially in groups with low rates of good knowledge and practice about prevention of birth defects.