Newborn thermal care in western Uttar Pradesh — gap analysis between knowledge and practices

Abstract

Background The provision of health care services including maternal and newborn care is a dynamic system of entitlement and obligations among the community, the service providers, and the government. Thermal control remains poor in newborns owing to immaturity of the thermoregulatory center and newborn become vulnerable to hypothermia especially premature babies, intrauterine growth retardation and LBW babies, and even normal babies.This study aimed to assess the knowledge & practices regarding thermal protection their determinants. Methods Cross-sectional study was conducted in the Amroha district. The study population comprised women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) who have delivered a live baby within the past 12 weeks before the conduct of the study. Out of 6 blocks, 2 most populous villages were selected. Total 61 villages from 6 blocks were covered under the study. Knowledge and practices regarding newborn thermal care were expressed in percentages and compared. Results The knowledge domain on thermal protection of baby, 60.9% of the respondents were well aware of how to keep baby warm after delivery, 71.4% of respondents knew that baby should be dried soon after birth, 64.9% of the respondents had an idea of time to dry the baby, 69.6% of the respondents knew that baby should be wrapped soon after birth. Conclusion The findings of the study provides an insight into the existing knowledge and necessitate a need for quantitative studies in the study area to access knowledge & practices related to thermal protection of newborns. The authors emphasize a need for improving community awareness for the promotion of newborn care and improve the health system to meet the demands of birthing mothers and the needs of newborns.

Newborn care knowledge and practices among care givers of new-born babies attending a regional referral hospital in Southwestern Uganda

“…In this study, care givers practiced adequate thermal care (87.8%) practicing wrapping the baby in multiple layer to keep the baby warm. This is lower than 60.9% found in a community study done in India(23). Ours was a hospital based study and the respondents could have had health education that promoted adequate thermal care.…”

Newborn care knowledge and practices among care givers of newborns and young infants attending a regional referral hospital in Southwestern Uganda

“…In this study, care givers practiced adequate thermal care (87.8%) practicing wrapping the baby in multiple layer to keep the baby warm. This is higher than 60.9% found in a community study done in India [27] and 67.2% in a community study among adolescent mothers in Uganda [28]. This being a hospital based study, the respondents could have had health education that promoted adequate thermal care, but also it could be to the difference in cultural beliefs and that the Ugandan study included adolescent mothers who were not experienced in care on newborns.…”

Literature Review Study: Factors Affecting Caring Performance in Low Birth Weight (LBW) Infants

“…Maternal nutritional status plays an important role in exclusive breastfeeding, as well as delivery status which determines the mother's experience in caring for LBW (Jana et al, 2023). Younger maternal age tends to have difficulty carrying out care because it is related to parity status and mental readiness, as well as a lack of knowledge of skills and care practices that are lacking (Jana et al, 2023;Lubis, 2021;Srivastava et al, 2022). Mother's motivation in caring for LBW affects self-confidence which has an impact on decision-making in LBW care (Bilal et al, 2021).…”

“…Sociodemographic factors are often an obstacle to providing good LBW care. Poverty and economic level are often obstacles for families in LBW care, especially when the baby is sick (Bilal et al, 2021;Jana et al, 2023;Lydon et al, 2022;Nisha et al, 2019;Srivastava et al, 2022). Limited access to health, such as in remote areas, is an obstacle to achieving good quality care (Jana et al, 2023;Ningsih & Setiawan, 2018;Nisha et al, 2019).…”