Knowledge and practice on essential newborn care among postnatal mothers in Bangladesh

Essential newborn care should be applied immediately after the baby is born and continued for at least the first 7 days after birth. Nearly all (99%) neonatal mortality occurs in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to assess the level of knowledge and practice and the relationship between knowledge and practice on essential newborn care among postnatal mothers in Bangladesh. A descriptive correlational design was conducted among 120 postnatal mothers selected by using convenient sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data. Finding shows that the relationship between knowledge and practice among postnatal mothers on essential newborn care statistically significant (r = 0.244, p <0.007). The mean age of the participants was 24.02 years (SD = 4.68). The results revealed that the postnatal mothers reported a moderate level of total knowledge, with the mean score was 9.99 ± 1.85 maximum and the moderate level of total practice, mean score was 3.20 ± 0.28 maximum. Older age group had higher knowledge (p<.03) and practice (p<.016) than younger age group on essential newborn care. The findings showed that mothers had moderate knowledge and practice on essential newborn care. Significant positive correlation between knowledge and practice was observed in old mothers. Younger mothers had significantly less knowledge and practice. The study suggests that nurses should educate mothers for essential newborn care, especially younger mothers during antenatal care.