KNOWLEDGE OF MOTHERS ABOUT PUBERTY SIGNS AMONG CHILDREN

Background: Adolescence is one of the most exciting and convoluted periods in the life span of mankind which is bridging childhood and adulthood. There are rapid physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes during this period. The most dramatic changes related to adolescence are the physical changes that occur as a part of pubertal process. Mothers need proper and adequate knowledge about physical and emotional changes of teenagers to recognize any deviations from reproductive health and also to overcome the shyness that might be related to sexual and reproductive health. The aimof this study is to investigates the knowledge of mothers regarding puberty signs among children in Saudi Arabia, critique relationship between mothers and their children, and to explain the puberty signs for mothers

Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study in different regions in KSA during the period from 1 January to 31 June 2020. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from Saudi mothers to measure their knowledge about puberty signs in their children. Pre-testing of the questionnaire on 10 respondents, after which necessary changes were made, and the questionnaire was re-administered. Data was compiled and analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS, version 16) and results were analyzed with frequencies and Chi-squared test as appropriate. P value was considered significant if <0.05.

Results: The study included 1669 participants nearly half of them (49.9%) were 26-40 years. More than half of participants 68.1% had one or all of their children reached puberty, 74.3% noticed changes in the body of son / daughter during puberty and 72.9% of parents tried talking to their son / daughter about puberty. 74.7% of subjects reported 12 – 16 years as a normal age for puberty in boys but, in girls 82.7% reported 9-14 years as a normal age for puberty. The majority 89% of participants think that proper nutrition plays a role in this stage also, 84.7% said that obesity and hereditary factors play a role in delaying or advancing adulthood, 63.4% reported 15 years as age of delay in puberty in girls but, in boys nearly same percentage reported age of 20-year-old. 72.7% know the difference between primary and secondary puberty signs in girls and boys, two third of cases (60.8%) think that menstrual cycle is organized for girls from 15-16 years and 70.5% know what are safe painkillers in the menstrual period. The majority 83.7% reported breast enlargement as a first signs of puberty followed by appearance of pubic/axillary hair 62.4%, menstrual cycle 53.1% and 26.4% for increase in length. In boys, 87.2% of cases reported change in voice as a first signs of puberty, 65.4% appearance of pubic/axillary hair, 39.3% length increase and 34.8% for body change.Significant relations were found with thinking obesity and hereditary as factors play a role in delaying or advancing adulthood and who think the menstrual cycle disorder in the early years of puberty indicate a defect in the girls body (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Medical awareness campaigns and conferences for mothers to increase their knowledge of the signs of puberty among their children should be carried out in Saudi Arabia.