Assessment of Factors Influencing Newborn Care Practices in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State South Sudan.

Abstract

Background: Essential newborn cares include care given to the newborn during pregnancy, delivery and after birth. These involve the care of mother, health facility and community influences. The direct determinant of newborn care include safe cord cutting and taking care of it after, delay newborn bathing by 6 -24hours of birth and initiation of breastfeeding newborn within 1hour of birth. Thus this study focuses on assessment of factors influencing newborn care practices in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State South Sudan. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study where sample of 64 neonatal mothers of Magwi County was studied as a single point time. Thus convenience sampling techniques was used to select mothers of newborn in Magwi County. This method of sampling techniques was chosen because of the availability and accessibility of the mothers of newborn residing in Magwi County. Thus the targeted mothers of newborn who were available and easy to access whether at health facilities and in the community participated in the study. Qualitative data was analyzed using a content analysis technique and findings were presented in a narrative form, using quotations from a few subjects. Quantitative data was edited and entered for analysis using SPSS as soon as the data collection exercise was completed. Results: There were 64 respondents who took part in the study of which ages range from 15- 49years. Of which only 19% reached secondary school, 56% ended in primary and 25% never went school. Majority (69%) were in lower class of income and half (50%) had knowledge on 1- 3 aspects of cleanliness during birth as well as 59% had knowledge on 3-4 aspects of newborn care practices. However 80% had safe cord cutting practices and 20% practiced unsafe cord cutting. Out of the 64 mothers, 83% bathed newborn after 24 hours of birth and 17% bathed their babies before 24 hours. Lastly, 78% breastfed newborn within one hour (good breastfeeding practices while 22% breastfed their babies after one hour of birth (not appropriate breastfeeding practices). Conclusion: The result revealed that there is good cord cutting and newborn bathing practices unlike mother‟s knowledge aspect of cleanliness at birth and newborn care practices as well as breastfeeding practices. This could be attributed to level of education and status of income level because majority ended in primary level of education and had low income for the family which affected good newborn care practices and survival.