Factors influencing the Level of Knowledge and Practices of Newborn Care

Abstract

Abstract

Each year nearly 7.7 million children under five years die around the world, out of which approximately 3.1 million newborns die during the neonatal period, and almost all these (99%) deaths occur in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, neonatal deaths account for 45% of under-five deaths. More than one-third of these deaths occur in the first 24 h of birth, whereas three-quarters of the neonatal deaths occur in the first seven days of delivery. This study aims to assess mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) about newborns' care and its related factors in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the postnatal ward, DMCH, to assess the level of Knowledge and Practice regarding newborn care among postnatal mothers in the postnatal ward of DMCH. Pre-testing was done to ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaire with five patients in the postnatal ward of the study location. Data were collected from 200 post-natal mothers who met the inclusion criteria. Structured and unstructured (closed and open-ended) MCQ for knowledge-related and 4-point Likert scale for practice-related questionnaires were used to collect data and age was distributed according to the class interval. The findings showed that there was an association between patients' knowledge and attitude regarding newborn care and their education. Postnatal mothers from urban settings had more knowledge and good practice than postnatal mothers from a rural settings. But this investigator did not compare in this area.