For parents, living with a child with developmental abnormalities presents a challenge, which is not present in the case of neurotypical development. The modern health care system offers several prenatal diagnostic methods for detecting abnormalities in fetal development and for the prognosis of the severity of the difficulties. These diagnostic methods can make it easier or even harder for parents to make further decisions. Attitudes play a major role in this, influencing mental processes and behavior. The aim of the master's thesis was to investigate the level of knowledge of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal risk factors among female professionals, which can lead to developmental abnormalities or result in an intellectual disability (hereafter MDR), and to explore their attitudes towards pregnancy despite adverse prognosis. In the theoretical part, we further defined MDR with the help of technical literature. Moreover, we focused on the etiology of MDR and the etiology of other developmental disabilities. We also described the importance of a healthy lifestyle for an optimal pregnancy and looked at the most common maternal risk behaviors that can lead to the abnormal development of a child. Furthermore, we presented the timing and content of prenatal checkups and listed the most common prenatal diagnostic methods. Parenting a child with special needs was pointed out as the main topic. In connection with it, we described two possible scenarios when faced with the unpleasant news – accepting the child or terminating the pregnancy early. Lastly, we presented the role of attitudes. The empirical part was based on a causal non-experimental method of pedagogical research and a quantitative research approach. The survey was carried out on a sample of female special and rehabilitation pedagogues (hereafter SRP), class teachers, specialist teachers and other female professionals (N=87). The latter were included later in the process and are not a part of the research questions. We prepared a questionnaire in physical form, which was distributed to four educational institutions from the Obalno-kraška statistical region and the Primorsko-notranjska statistical region. We looked at possible differences in knowledge of risk factors and attitudes according to the length of service, professional profile and motherhood. The results show very good knowledge of all three categories of risk factors from all participants. We discovered a statistically significant correlation between professional profile and knowledge of prenatal risk factors. SRPs are the most familiar with prenatal risk factors, while specialist teachers are the least familiar with them. Furthermore, when checking the attitudes, we observed that female professionals, on average, find the thought of having a child with disabilities scary, but that they would be willing to keep the baby regardless of the diagnosis. On average, they are in favor of prenatal testing. Statistically significant differences in attitudes were found in correlation with professional profile and length of service. Class teachers are the most likely to agree that children with developmental abnormalities will suffer in life, while SRPs are the least likely to agree with it. Class teachers are the most likely to agree with prenatal diagnostic tests regardless of the level of risk to the fetus, while SRPs are the least likely to agree with it. Similarly, female professionals with higher years of service are the most likely to agree with the latter statement, while those with lower years of service are the least likely to agree with it. No statistically significant differences were found at the level of maternity experience.
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