ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to assess early initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers of aged less than 12 months children in the rural eastern zone, Tigray, Ethiopia.ResultsTotally 803 mother–child pairs were participated in this study with a response rate of 99.25%. Out of this, 787 mothers had ever breastfed their children. Four hundred eighty-seven (61.9%) mothers initiated breastfeeding within 1 h after they gave birth. Mothers having an educational status of primary education were about 2 times more likely to initiate breastfeeding within 1 h of birth [AOR: 1.99, 95% CI 1.36–2.92] and those mothers having secondary education and above were 3.23 times more likely to start breastfeeding [AOR = 3.23, 95% CI 1.99–5.26]. Mothers who had mistimed pregnancy were 58% less likely to initiate breastfeeding within 1 h of birth [AOR: 0.42, 95% CI 0.27–0.65]. On the other hand, mothers who had delivered their child vaginally were 4.6 times more likely to start early initiation of breast feeding [AOR: 4.59, 95% CI 1.99–10.56].

Background: Neonatal thermal care is a vital intervention as newborns are susceptible to hypothermia than adults for certain reasons such as having a large body surface area, thin skin, little insulating fat, and overwhelmed thermoregulation mechanisms. Many newborn complications develop because of hypothermia due to thermal care malpractices. The leading thermal practice by women of developing countries is early bathing which predisposes newborns for life-threatening situations, such as low blood sugar levels, respiratory distress, abnormal clotting, jaundice, pulmonary hemorrhage and increased risk of developing infections. Hence, this research is aimed to provide substantial evidence regarding the women’s practices of newborn bath and the factors that determine early (<24hr) bathing. Objective: The study aimed to assess the early newborn bath and its associated factors among parturient women who gave birth in the last month in the Harar region, Eastern Ethiopia, 2017. Methods: The study applied an institutional-based cross-sectional study design by recruiting 433 women. The data collectors interviewed study participants face to face at the baby immunization ward from two hospitals and four health centers. The author calculated the sample size using a double population proportion formula. A systematic sampling technique from the women’s medical registration frame was used to select the final study participants. The data collectors gathered the data using a structured questionnaire adapted from different literature, checking its consistency, reliability and validity by a pretest. Results: The response rate of this study was 99.8%. The early newborn bathing practice was found in 153 (35.4% with 95% (CI): (30.3%, 40.3%) women. Uneducated (AOR=3.12 95% CI: (2.12-5.3), no knowledge of hypothermia (AOR=4.95 95% CI: (3.10-12.2), being Primi para (AOR=3.5 95% CI: (2.5-5.6) and no utilization of newborn bed net (AOR=6.2 95% CI: (3.3-45) were statistically significant factors determining early newborn bathing practice. Conclusion: The study revealed that although the ministry implemented a good deal of awareness promotion activities, women still practice early newborn bathing. Maternal illiteracy, giving birth for the first time, knowledge deficiency related to hypothermia and newborn bed net application were among the factors which demand improvement to solve the problem.

Background: Neonatal tetanus remains a significant avertable cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates. Adequate vaccination strategies, including at least two doses of tetanus toxoid for reproductive age women, can decrease neonatal mortality. In Ethiopia, a few numbers of neonates were protected at birth through this proactive intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to determine factors associated with the low coverage of tetanus toxoid immunization. Objective: This study aimed to determine the status of Tetanus Toxoid immunization coverage and factors associated with it. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study design was implemented among 515 mothers in Hawzen, Eastern zone of Tigray. The data were entered into Epi data manager version 3.5.1 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science version 20 software for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors significantly associated with tetanus toxoid immunization coverage. Results: Two hundred and seven (40.2%) mothers were protected against tetanus at last birth. Mothers whose age was less than 20 years [AOR 0.19(0.10, 0.32), had no future plan for fertility [AOR 0.30(0.17, 0.53)], mothers attended once for antenatal care visits [AOR 0.38(0.18, 0.82)] and who got information from media [AOR 4.49(1.82, 11.07] were independent predictors of tetanus toxoid immunization status of mothers. Conclusion: More than half of the mothers were not protected against tetanus at the time of last birth. This study found the age of mothers, future fertility plans, numbers of antenatal care visits and mothers who got information from media; these were significant factors associated with the likelihood of tetanus toxoid immunization of mothers.

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge about neonatal danger signs and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last 4 months attending immunization services. Result The study recruited 432 mothers to participate. A knowledge score of neonatal danger signs was found [32.9% (95% CI 28.9%, 37%)]. Mothers educated to secondary level were 4.9 times more likely to know about neonatal danger signs [(AOR = 4.9, 95% CI (1.15, 21). Similarly, mothers whose husband educated to college and above [AOR = 4.95, 95% CI (1.15, 21)], and being multipara mother [(AOR = 2.59, 95% CI (1.05, 6.6)], were factors significantly associated with good knowledge of mothers about neonatal danger signs.

Background. Prelacteal feeding is an obstacle to optimal breastfeeding practices in developing countries. It directly or indirectly affects the health of the infants. Despite its importance, this issue has received little attention in Ethiopia. As a result, this study aimed to assess prelacteal feeding and associated factors among mothers of children aged less than 12 months in the rural eastern zone, Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods. Community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The final sample size was 828, and the multistage sampling technique was used. Pretested and structured interviewer-administered tool was used for data collection. Data were entered, coded, and cleaned by Epi-Info version 7 and analyzed by using SPSS 22.0. Multivariable logistic regression was used to control the effect of confounding. Results. Eight hundred three mothers participated in this study. During the first three days after birth, 198 (24.7%) mothers practiced prelacteal feeding. Parity (AOR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.04–2.23), late initiation of breastfeeding (AOR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.30–2.59), and colostrum discard (AOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.06–2.33) were strongly associated with prelacteal feeding practice. Conclusion and Recommendation. One-fourth of participants practiced prelacteal feeding. Late initiation of breastfeeding, colostrum discard, and parity were significant determinants of prelacteal feeding. Awareness creation and health education concerning the advantages of early initiation of breastfeeding and the importance of colostrum during their health visits is necessary.