ABSTRACT
Background One of the congenital central nervous system malformations with great impact on the mental and psychosocial development of children is congenital hydrocephalus and it happens to be one of the most common. A large vacuum exists between knowledge on maternal environmental risk factors associated with congenital hydrocephalus, most especially in our rural community which consists of a large segment of our society. Our study aimed to determine the knowledge and perception of mothers on factors existing in the maternal environment that potentially puts an increased risk of developing congenital hydrocephalus. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional study design spanning a period of 8â¯months (March 2018-October 2018), in which the knowledge and perception of the risk factors of congenital hydrocephalus among mothers attending antenatal clinic in Irrua specialist teaching hospital, a rural tertiary hospital in Irrua, Edo state, Nigeria, were assessed using a random sampling technique. Interviewer-administered questionnaires (reviewed and validated) were used. The data collected were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results The findings showed varying levels of knowledge of congenital hydrocephalus. Less than half (44.0%) of the respondents had poor knowledge, 34.5% had fair knowledge, and 21.6% had good knowledge. There was a statistically significant relationship between knowledge of congenital hydrocephalus and respondents' knowledge of the risk factors of congenital hydrocephalus. Most (52.6%) had good perception of the risk factors of congenital hydrocephalus, while 23.3% had poor perception. Conclusion This study revealed a fairly good knowledge of congenital hydrocephalus and its risk factors among mothers, most especially those with a good level of education.
