Maternal emotional reactions towards results of newborn hearing screening: A cross sectional survey

ABSTRACT

@#<p style="text-align justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> This study aims to determine the maternal reactions and emotions towards an initial "refer" result in the newborn hearing screening test and to determine the proportion of mothers who fully comprehended the test results of the newborn hearing screening test.<br /><strong>METHODS:</strong> In this study, mothers of newborns with a "refer" result in the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) are given questionnaires which cover their understanding of the hearing screening test, the emotions they felt and attitude towards the results.<br /><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Our findings showed that the UNHS program protocol was properly understood by almost all the respondent mothers. Of the emotions listed from the questionnaire, being "worried" was the most persistently felt emotion.<br /><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> It is important that the results of the newborn hearing screening test be properly understood by the mothers. Mothers who experienced negative emotions brought about by the hearing screening test still believed that the newborn hearing screening test was important, were glad that their child underwent the newborn hearing screening test and will request it for their future offspring.</p>