KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF ESSENTIAL NEWBORN CARE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG MOTHERS ATTENDING POSTNATAL CARE AT PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES OF ASSOSA ZONE, BENISHANGUL GUMUZ REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

Summary Background: A series of procedures known as the essential new-born care practice (ENBCP) include safe cord care, thermal care, and starting nursing within the first hour. These procedures all help to lower newborn morbidity and mortality. Worldwide, the newborn era, which requires more care to safeguard a baby's life, accounts for 46% of mortality in children under the age of five. One of the Ethiopian regions with a high infant mortality rate is Benishangul Gumuz. Objective: To assess the magnitude of essential new born care knowledge, practice and its associated factors among mothers attending postnatal care at public health facilities in Assosa zone, Benishangul Gumuz, Ethiopia. Methods- A cross-sectional study with an institutional focus was carried out between December 15, 2021, and January 20, 2022. By using rigorous random sampling methods, 492 mothers from eight HCs and one public hospital in the Assosa zone were chosen. Following the pre-test at Chamatsa HC, which was conducted on 5% of the sample size, data were gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire. Using SPSS software version 20, data was examined. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, as well as descriptive statistics, were performed. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to gauge the strength of the link. The p-value threshold of 0.05 was used. Texts, tables, and graphs were used to present the final findings. Result: In this study, 74.4% of women had good essential newborn care knowledge, and 63.8% had good practice in this area. In comparison to mothers without any formal education, mothers who had formal education were 3.26 times more likely to know how to provide essential newborn care (AOR = 3.26, 95% CI: 1.38- 7.66), and mothers who lived in urban areas were 2.60 times more likely to provide essential newborn care than their counterparts(AOR= 2.60, 95% CI: 1.15- 5.87). The majority of responders, 349 (70.9%), had knowledge of newborn care; of these, 346 (70.3%) had begun breastfeeding within the first hour. Conclusion: - In this study the level of comprehensive essential newborn care practice is low. So, HEWs should strengthen home visit to every mother during their postpartum period in order to provide appropriate information regarding essential newborn care essential for improving the service Keywords: knowledge, Practice, Essential newborn care, Newborn, Postpartum care, Ethiopia