Assessment of Parents’ Awareness about the Care of Their Neonates with Neural Tube Defects.

Background: Neural Tube Defects are one of the most congenital anomalies of the Central Nervous System that may happen in the neonatal period. Aim of the study: this study aimed to assess parents’ awareness about the care of their neonates with neural tube defects. Research design: A descriptive study design was used. Setting: the study was conducted at the outpatient clinic for pediatric Neurology at Ain Shams Educational Hospital. Methods: A convenient sample of 40 parents accompanied by their neonates who suffered from neural tube defects. Tools: Data was collected using three tools. Tool (I) A structured questionnaire sheet composed of 2 parts, part 1: assessing demographic data of the studied parents. In addition to part 2: assessing parents’ knowledge regarding care of neural tube defects. Tool (II) reported practice checklists and tool (III) Parental Stress Index. Results: The results of this study revealed that most of the studied parents have unsatisfactory knowledge and incompetent reported practices regarding the care of Neural Tube Defects. Conclusion: It was concluded that most of the studied parents have a poor level of awareness regarding the care of their neonates with Neural Tube Defects. Recommendations: It was recommended to provide further instructions and guidelines for parents who have neonates with Neural Tube Defects to enhance their awareness of better neonates’ outcomes.