Abstract
Stoma in children may occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract because of the wide variety of congenital and acquired conditions that necessitate stoma formation. Understanding enterostomal construction and physiology is essential for providing these children with optimal care. Aim of the study was to assess mothers' knowledge and practices regarding caring of their children with stoma. Subjects and Methods: Design: A descriptive research design was utilized. Setting:  The study was applied in Benha Specialized Pediatric Hospital in the pediatric surgical ward and pediatric surgery outpatient clinic. Sample: A purposive sample consisted of 70 mothers of children with stoma. Tools for data collection: Tool I: Questionnaire sheet which included three parts; part one: demographic data of the mothers, part two: demographic data of children with stoma, and part three: Medical history of the child, Tool II:  Questionnaire sheet to assess mothers' knowledge and Tool III: observational check list to assess mothers' practice regarding stoma care. Results: 62% of the studied children had colostomy for Hirschsprung's disease, and had temporary colostomy, while nearly one third had permanent colostomy. The main source of information among mothers was doctors. All of the studied mothers had unsatisfactory level of knowledge and had bad practice about stoma care. Conclusions: All mothers had poor level of knowledge and more than half of them had poor level of practice regarding stoma care. Recommendations: Establishing educational program for mothers of children with stoma about caring of their children to become more knowledgeable and had good practices.