Introduction: Of the 130 million babies born yearly, nearly 4 million die in the neonatal period. Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) 2014 places neonatal mortality rate at 22 deaths per 1,000 live births, well above the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 that aims to reduce these mortalities to at least 12 deaths per 1000 live births by 2030. The aim of the study was to assess maternal knowledge on selected components of essential newborn care: breastfeeding, cord care, immunisation, eye care and thermoregulation. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 postnatal mothers in Kenyatta National Hospital. Interviews were conducted using structured pretested questionnaires. A score of one was given for correct response and zero for incorrect. Data were analysed using SPSS version 18. Results: Modes of thermoregulation identified included kangaroo care (7%), warm room (4%) and warm clothing (93%). Almost all mothers knew of breastfeeding on demand, exclusive breastfeeding and colostrum use. Only 17.8% of mothers identified Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) were birth vaccines. Only 4 mothers knew no substances should be applied to the cord. In logistic regression, factors significantly associated with poor knowledge included lack of education on newborn care during pregnancy, incomplete (less than 3) or no antenatal visits with an odds ratio (OR) of 3.3 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5 to 7.4), 2.5(1.5 to 4.2), 5.1(1.3 to 19.3) and p values of 0.003, 0.001 and 0.018 respectively. Conclusion: Knowledge gaps existed regarding cord care, eye care, and immunization. Mothers had good knowledge on breastfeeding practices. Those who fail to fully attend antenatal clinics should be targeted for newborn care education.
Study design: A hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out in Kenyatta national Hospital (KNH) postnatal wards between July 2013 and September 2013. Study population: A total of 380 postnatal mothers were selected using consecutive sampling. Postnatal mothers of neonates born in the hospital who gave informed consent were included in the study. Exclusion criteria consisted of mothers whose neonates died or were admitted to nursery immediately after birth and those with significant congenital anomalies. Study procedure: Participants were interviewed on the day of discharge using structured pretested questionnaires that captured data on socio-demographic characteristics, antenatal and perinatal history and knowledge towards essential newborn care practices. Data collection: The data collection was carried out by the principal investigator or the research assistant. After recruiting the study subjects, a structured pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was administered to the mother and their responses filled in. The questionnaire consisted of both close and open ended questions addressing the following: neonate’s and parents socio-demographic data; antenatal and birth history of the neonate; mother’s knowledge on the WHO essential newborn care practices. Knowledge was assessed by closed ended and open ended questions. Data analysis and management: Data were collected and stored in the Microsoft access database. The collected data were then coded, verified and analysed using the statistical package for social sciences computer version 18.0 software. A scoring system was used to analyse responses to closed ended questions on knowledge: 1 = Correct response (consistent with WHO essential newborn care guidelines); 0 = Incorrect response (inconsistent with WHO essential newborn care guidelines). Any mother who did not know the answer was considered to have an incorrect response. The responses for the open ended questions were summarized and descriptive statistics carried out. During analysis for factors associated with poor maternal knowledge on newborn care, the median score was used as a cut off to distinguish between poor knowledge and satisfactory knowledge. A total of 16 questions were asked to assess knowledge on various aspects of newborn care. Those scoring below the median were considered to have poor knowledge and above or equal to the median considered satisfactory knowledge. The level of knowledge was then cross tabulated against the variables of interest. The variables which were significantly associated with poor knowledge at bivariate analysis were further analysed using multivariate analysis test (multiple logistic regression) to determine factors independently associated with poor knowledge. Associations between poor knowledge and each independent variable were examined by odds ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval. Statistical testing was done using Chi square tests to compare dependent variables with explanatory variables. Data were then presented using pie charts, histograms and tables.
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