October 2021 · Volume 10 · Issue 10 Page 3678 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Ahmed Y et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Oct;10(10):3678-3683 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Original Research Article Knowledge and acceptability of prenatal diagnosis among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a tertiary health institution in Sokoto, Nigeria Yakubu Ahmed 1 *, Abubakar A. Panti 1 , Amina G. Umar 1 , Anas R. Funtua 2 , Nafisa Abdullahi 3 , Jamila A. Garba 2 INTRODUCTION Prenatal diagnosis is the science of identifying malformations, disruptions, chromosomal abnormalities, and other genetic syndromes in the fetus. It encompasses routine screening tests for aneuploidy and neural-tube defects. 1 Prenatal diagnosis first came into use in 1977 with the discovery of the significance of serum α fetoprotein (AFP). 1 It is a well-known documented fact that congenital anomalies account for 20 to 25% of perinatal deaths, which is a major marker of quality of health care delivery. 2 The goal of prenatal diagnosis is to provide accurate DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20213830 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3 Department of Medicine, Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria Received: 19 June 2020 Revised: 07 August 2020 Accepted: 05 September 2020 *Correspondence: Dr. Yakubu Ahmed, E-mail: ahmeddryakubu32@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Technology and advances in research have made it possible for the fetus to become a patient whose illness can be investigated, diagnosed and treated in utero. The study was aimed at assessing the knowledge and acceptability of prenatal diagnosis among pregnant women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out between December 2016 and March, 2017. Pregnant women attending antennal care clinic at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto (UDUTH) were recruited via convenient sampling method using semi-structured interviewer questionnaire. Results: A total of 417 pregnant women were interviewed. The mean maternal age was 28.35±5 years with a range between 17 to 45 years. Up to 188 (69.10%) had at least secondary school level of education. There was an overall poor knowledge of prenatal diagnosis, as 406 (97.36%) had little to no idea. There was statistically significant association between knowledge and educational status at p value- 0.0001. Majority, 353 (87.8%) will accept prenatal diagnosis if offered. There was also statistically significant association between educational status and acceptability as well as knowledge of prenatal diagnosis at p value- 0.001 and 0.001 respectively. The noninvasive method, ultrasound was the most preferred by the majority, 332 (84.3%). Termination of pregnancy as an option of management in fetal abnormality was acceptable by up to 2/3 (63.1%) of the respondents. Conclusions: The knowledge of prenatal diagnosis among the respondents was generally poor. The identifiable factor that determined knowledge and acceptability of prenatal diagnosis was level of education. Keywords: Acceptability, Knowledge, Management option, Prenatal diagnosis, Termination of pregnancy