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Research ArticleOriginal Article
Open Access

Effect of maternal education on the rate of childhood handicap

Waleed M. Milaat, Sherine Shawky, Bahaa A. Abalkhail and Nadia K. Soliman
Saudi Medical Journal January 2001, 22 (1) 39-43;
Waleed M. Milaat
Department of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah.
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Sherine Shawky
PO Box 115, Jeddah 21411, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tel. +966 (2) 6318318 Fax. +966 (2) 632 3142. E-mail: [email protected]
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Bahaa A. Abalkhail
Department of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah.
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Nadia K. Soliman
Department of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah.
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to determine the relation between maternal education and various maternal risk factors, identify the impact of maternal education on the risk of childhood handicap and estimate the proportion of childhood handicap that can be prevented by maternal education.

METHODS: Data was collected from all married women attending the two major maternity and child hospitals in Jeddah during April 1999. Women with at least one living child were interviewed for sociodemographic factors and having at least one handicapped child. The risk of having a handicapped child and the population attributable risk percent were calculated.

RESULTS: Some potential risk factors are dominant in our society as approximately 30% of women did not attend school and 84% did not work. Consanguineous marriages accounted for about 43%. Pre-marriage counseling was limited as only 10% of women counseled before marriage. The proportion of unemployment and consanguineous marriages decreased significantly by increase in maternal education level. Conversely, the proportion of women reporting pre-marriage counseling increased significantly by increase in maternal education level. Approximately, 7% of women reported having at least one handicapped child. The risk of having a handicapped child showed a significant sharp decline with increase in maternal education level. At least 25% of childhood handicap can be prevented by achieving female primary education and up to half of cases can be prevented if mothers finish their intermediate education.

CONCLUSION: Female education plays a major role in child health. The results of this study suggest investment in female education, which would have substantial positive effects in reducing incidence of childhood handicap in Jeddah.

  • Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Saudi Medical Journal: 22 (1)
Saudi Medical Journal
Vol. 22, Issue 1
1 Jan 2001
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Effect of maternal education on the rate of childhood handicap
Waleed M. Milaat, Sherine Shawky, Bahaa A. Abalkhail, Nadia K. Soliman
Saudi Medical Journal Jan 2001, 22 (1) 39-43;

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Effect of maternal education on the rate of childhood handicap
Waleed M. Milaat, Sherine Shawky, Bahaa A. Abalkhail, Nadia K. Soliman
Saudi Medical Journal Jan 2001, 22 (1) 39-43;
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© 2025 Saudi Medical Journal Saudi Medical Journal is copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention.  Saudi Medical Journal is an Open Access journal and articles published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). Readers may copy, distribute, and display the work for non-commercial purposes with the proper citation of the original work. Electronic ISSN 1658-3175. Print ISSN 0379-5284.

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