Iranian midwives' knowledge of and attitudes toward female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)

Introduction: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is globally recognized as a violation of the human rights of females. It has no health benefits and harms those who undergo the procedure. Midwives are therefore expected to be aware of how to manage these consequences and play a key role in the prevention of the practice. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of Iranian midwives' knowledge of and attitudes toward FGM/C.

Methods: A total of 168 midwives were enrolled in our descriptive study. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by specialists. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 software using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results: Only 20.23% of participants had good knowledge about FGM/C, and knowledge of 3.58% of participants was weak. There was no correlation between knowledge and demographic characteristics of participants.

Conclusions: The average level of participants' knowledge and mixed attitudes toward FGM/C indicate a need to develop effective strategies to increase knowledge of midwives and improving their attitude toward FGM/C.