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

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