Determination of Mothers level of Knowledge toward Children’s Developmental Milestones visiting Dr. Jamal Ahmed Rashid Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Sulaimaniyah City / Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52783/jns.v14.2471Keywords:
developmental milestones, mother, knowledge, children under 2 years oldAbstract
Background: Recognizing child developmental milestones is essential for the early detection of developmental delays and promoting optimal growth in children. While studies in developed countries emphasize the beneficial effects of maternal awareness on child development, such research is scarce in the Arab region. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge among mothers concerning their children's developmental milestones in Sulaimaniyah city, Iraq, and to investigate the relationship between this understanding and their socio-demographic factors.
Methods: A quantitative and descriptive research approach was employed from December 15th 2022 to March 15th 2023 at Dr. Jamal Ahmed Rashid Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Sulaimaniyah city. A purposive sample of 160 mothers with children under the age of two was selected. Data were gathered through a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic attributes and knowledge on developmental milestones. The reliability of the questionnaire was strong (Cronbach's alpha = 0.831). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were conducted for data analysis using SPSS version 24.
Results: The findings indicated that highest number of mothers had fair level of overall understanding regarding child developmental milestones. Statistical examination showed significant differences between maternal age and awareness of motor and language development; between financial condition and knowledge of motor development; and between child's birth order and understanding of motor, cognitive, and language development (p≤0.05). Significant associations were found between maternal education with language development level showed a significant correlation with knowledge of language development and number of children with language and cognitive development.
Conclusions and recommendations: more than half of mothers have fair level of knowledge in overall areas of developmental millstones. Statistically, there are associations between mother’s age and child’s birth orders with mother’s level of knowledge in term of motor, cognitive, and language domains.
Recommendation: Enhance the mother's level of knowledge and awareness about child developmental milestones through implementing comprehensive educational programs about this important issue is highly recommended.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Al Darsoni, J., and Al Shehri N., 2020. Milestones: Are mothers aware?, International Journal of Advanced Community Medicine, 3(3): 09-14 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33545/comed.2020.v3.i4a.169
Aldayel, A.S., Aldayel, A.A., Almutairi, A.M., Alhussain, H.A., Alwehaibi, S.A. and Almutairi, T.A., 2020. Parental knowledge of children’s developmental milestones in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. International journal of Pediatrics, 2020(1), p.8889912.
Alkhazrajy, L.A. and Aldeen, E.R.S., 2017. Assessment of mothers knowledge regarding the developmental milestone among children under two years in Iraq. Am J Appl Sci, 14(9), pp.869-77.
Alqurashi, F.O., Awary, B.H., Khan, B.F., AlARhain, S.A., Alkhaleel, A.I., Albahrani, B.A. and Alali, A.S., 2021. Assessing knowledge of Saudi mothers with regard to parenting and child developmental milestones. Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 28(3), pp.202-209.
Anushka, D. and Srinivasan, A., 2024. Study of Knowledge about the Developmental Milestones of Children in Primiparous Mothers. Journal of Ecophysiology and Occupational Health, pp.199-203.
Carra, C., Lavelli, M., Keller, H. and Kärtner, J., 2013. Parenting infants: Socialization goals and behaviors of Italian mothers and immigrant mothers from West Africa. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(8), pp.1304-1320.
David, D., Toppo, K.J. and Saini, K., 2014. A study to assess the knowledge of mothers’ regarding developmental milestones of infants. Int J Curr Res, 6(07), pp.7524-7528p.
Ertem, I.O., Atay, G., Dogan, D.G., Bayhan, A., Bingoler, B.E., Gok, C.G., Ozbas, S., Haznedaroglu, D. and Isikli, S.E.D.A.T., 2007. Mothers' knowledge of young child development in a developing country. Child: care, health and development, 33(6), pp.728-737.
Findlay, L., Kohen, D., & Miller, A., 2014. Developmental milestones among Aboriginal children in Canada. Paediatrics & child health, 19(5), 241–246. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/19.5.241
González, L., Cortés-Sancho, R., Murcia, M., Ballester, F., Rebagliato, M. and Rodríguez-Bernal, C.L., 2020. The role of parental social class, education and unemployment on child cognitive development. Gaceta sanitaria, 34, pp.51-60.
Habbash, A.S., Qatomah, A., Al-Doban, R. and Asiri, R., 2022. Parental knowledge of children’s developmental milestones in Aseer, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 11(9), pp.5093-5102.
Joshi, N.H., Trivedi, A.V. and Mihir Rupani, M.R., 2019. Cross-sectional study on assessment of the knowledge of mothers regarding identification of developmental milestones of young children at an urban area of Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Karuppannan, A., Ramamoorthy, T., Rammamoorthi, A. and Ravichandran, L., 2020. Mother’s knowledge on child’s developmental milestones and parenting skills in Kanchipuram District, Tamilnadu: a descriptive cross sectional study. Int J Health Sci Res, 10(2), pp.242-7.
Lopchan, R. and Dangol, B.K., 2021. Knowledge Regarding Developmental Milestones of Infant among Mothers Attending a Selected Primary Health Care Centre of Sunsari, Nepal. Journal of Nursing and Health Science. Volume 10, Issue 4 Ser. IV (Jul. – Aug. 2021), PP 49-53.
Manas, G.M., 2020. A study on childhood development in early stage. Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(59), pp.13927-13938.
Safadi, R.R., Ahmad, M., Nassar, O.S., Alashhab, S.A., AbdelKader, R. and Amre, H.M., 2016. Jordanian mothers' knowledge of infants' childrearing and developmental milestones. International Nursing Review, 63(1), pp.50-59.
Sasikala, J., 2012. A Study to Assess the Knowledge on Institutional Delivery Among Primi Gravida Mothers at Selected Hospital Bangalore (Doctoral dissertation, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (India)).
Soni, D.J. and Srinivasan, A., 2021. A study on primigravida mothers of rural Karad taluka, Maharashtra in acknowledging the child developmental milestones. Journal of Ecophysiology and Occupational Health, pp.52-55.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
