A Study to Assess the Knowledge on Female Foeticide and Attitude towards Gender Preference among Prim Gravida Mothers attending OPD in a selected hospital with A view to Provide Informational Booklet

Abstract

Background of the study: Female feticide is the process of finding out the sex of the fetus and undergoing abortion if it is a girl. This is one of the most prevalent issues today. The preference for the male child dates back into history and obviously, therefore, female feticide has long been practiced in Indian societies. With the advancement in technology and development of easier and cheaper techniques, female feticide has spread throughout India. The government has amended the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act of 1994 that criminalized prenatal sex screening and female feticide, making it illegal in India to determine or disclose the sex of fetus to anyone. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and attitude of prim gravida mothers regarding Female Foeticide. Methodology: this study was done with non-experimental research survey research design. Study was done in KC General Hospital, Bangalore. Sampling technique for selecting 60 samples was non – probability convenience sampling technique. Data collection was done with self – structured knowledge questionnaire and likert scale was developed to assess attitude of the samples. Data collection period was for 30 days and interview method was employed in collecting data and the collected data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The present study shows the overall knowledge total score of mean and standard deviation scores were 7.52 2.67 and the overall attitude mean and standard deviation score was 37.0 4.30. the correlation between knowledge and attitude was 0.359 which indicates mild positive correlation Conclusion: The samples in the study had inadequate knowledge and unfavourable attitude towards female feticide and gender differences. The researcher administered information booklet to the samples to increase their knowledge and to develop their attitude.