Maternal awareness and perception on phototherapy for neonates with hyperbilirubinemia

Abstract

Phototherapy is the safest treatment modality for neonatal jaundice and it consists of the application of fluorescent light to the infants exposed skin. The present study was aimed to assess maternal awareness and perceptions regarding phototherapy among 110 mothers of neonates received phototherapy from OBG wards. data were obtained by self report method from the mothers on perception and awareness. The results showed that more than half of the mothers (61.8%) had average perception and 53.6% of mothers had moderately adequate awareness regarding phototherapy. There was a significant association between maternal perception on phototherapy and type of family (p = 0.020), information received regarding phototherapy (p = 0.015). There was a significant association between awareness of mother and information received regarding phototherapy (p = 0.001). There was a significant weak positive correlation (r = 0.373, p = 0.000) between maternal perception and awareness regarding phototherapy. The study emphasizes the importance of educating the mothers on neonatal jaundice, phototherapy to enhance their awareness and perception.