A study to assess the knowledge regarding the care of newborns among postnatal mothers at AIIMS Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: The health of future children depends on the nurturing practice in the initial years of life. Knowledge about the care of newborns among mothers plays a major role in reducing neonatal morbidities and mortalities. Therefore, the objective of the study was to assess the knowledge among postnatal mothers about newborn care. Methods: A descriptive study was done among 60 purposively selected post-natal mothers admitted at AIIMS, Jodhpur. Data was collected through self-structured questionnaires. The reliability of the self-structured knowledge questionnaire was determined by the KR-20 method and found reliable (0.81). Data collected was analyzed for frequency, mean, and standard deviation. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to compute the data. The Chi-square (Fisher’s Exact Test) was used to determine the relationship between selected socio-demographic variables and knowledge scores of post-natal mothers. Results: Findings showed that most (73%) of the respondents were from the age group 20-27 years. The mean knowledge score was 26.783±3.9234. Most of the respondents (60%) had excellent knowledge, whereas 28.33% had good knowledge levels. None of the participants was in the range of poor knowledge. Knowledge of participants about newborn care was found to have a significant association with the level of education, area of living and occupation. Conclusions: The result of this study provided information that postnatal mothers have adequate knowledge of newborn care. Some socio-demographic factors like occupation, literacy and area of residence were found to be associated with the knowledge of the mothers.