Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding postpartum care among mothers attending an Egyptian family health unit

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate knowledge and attitude of mothers about postpartum care and to assess postpartum care that was provided for both mothers and newborns.BackgroundThe postnatal period is critical for the newborn and the mother. All of maternal and neonatal problems could be reduced if women receive appropriate postpartum care. Therefore, it is essential to provide education to mothers regarding appropriate postpartum care, as improved household practices and use of services, often at the community level, will increase newborn survival.Participants and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on a simple random sample of 321 mothers in the reproductive age. The mothers were selected randomly from the Elsafasef health care facility of Damanhur District of El-Behra Governorate, Egypt. A predesigned questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic data, knowledge, and attitude of the participants regarding postpartum care, and a checklist was used to assess postpartum care services provided for both mothers and their neonates.ResultsGood knowledge was reported among 57% of the studied group, whereas 79.3% of them had a positive attitude, and approximately 51.2% and 64.8% of the studied group had good practice regarding postpartum care services that were provided for them and their neonates, respectively.ConclusionMore than half of mothers had good knowledge and satisfactory practice regarding postpartum care, and a majority of them had a positive attitude toward postpartum care.