SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF PREGNANT WOMEN REFERRING TO THE DELIVERY WARD OF IMAM KHOMEINI HOSPITAL IN PIRANSHAHR REGARDING CIRCUMCISION IN 2020: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Female circumcision is considered as one of the health problems of women in some societies, including Iran, and includes all methods that lead to damage or removal of part or all of the female reproductive system based on cultural goals or other non-medical reasons. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women referring to the maternity ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Piranshahr city regarding circumcision in 2020.

In the present descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 320 pregnant women (160 in the circumcised group and 160 in the uncircumcised group) who were referred to the maternity ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Piranshahr city were selected by convenience sampling method. Necessary information was collected through demographic information form, maternal characteristics assessment form (during pregnancy), researcher-made questionnaire of knowledge, and attitude towards circumcision questionnaire. A significance level of 0.05 was coded in SPSS software version 16.

The mean age of circumcised and uncircumcised women was 28.92±6 6.2 and 25.42±4. 4.8 years, respectively. In both groups, most women had a low level of knowledge about circumcision but the knowledge of circumcised women was higher than uncircumcised women and a statistically significant difference existed in terms of knowledge about circumcision (p = 0.006). The results also showed that in both groups, there was a negative attitude towards circumcision but uncircumcised women had a more negative attitude towards circumcision, which is statistically significant (p = 0.001). The linear regression model showed that among the variables, age, education, place of birth, and income were statistically significant in increasing the awareness of pregnant women (p <0.05 for all). Meanwhile, occupation had no effect on predicting knowledge in women (p = 0.483). The linear regression model also showed that among the demographic variables; age, education, and place of birth were effective in predicting attitude in pregnant women under study and this relationship was significant for these variables (p <0.05 for all). Among these, job (p = 0.484) and income (p = 0.537) had no significant effect on women's attitude toward circumcision.

Considering the prevalence of circumcision in Piranshahr city and the low awareness of women and the existence of women whose attitude towards circumcision is still positive; it is expected that in formulating educational and legal strategies at the regional level, significant variables in the present study will be considered by health managers and health policymakers in order to increase and promote women's attitude about circumcision.