Awareness and Practice Regarding Neonatal Danger Signs among Postnatal Mothers attending at Rural Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal

Background: Neonatal danger signs were proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) which indicates newborns are at high risk of illness and death. Due to parents’ ignorance or minimal reorganization of neonatal danger signs in many developing countries like Nepal, almost all neonates are not treated timely when they are sick and neonates lose their life at home. Therefore, mothers’ health-seeking behavior and practice strongly rely on their awareness regarding neonatal danger signs. Mothers' awareness and newborn care practice are essential for appropriate and timely health management and reduction of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The study’s objective was to assess the awareness and practice regarding neonatal danger signs among postnatal mothers. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted among 139 postnatal mothers, who were attending the maternal and child health (MCH) clinic and postnatal ward of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS), Jumla. Probability sampling technique (lottery method) was used. Data were collected by using a semi-structured interview questionnaire. After the collection of the data, coding was done. Coded data was entered into EXCEL and transformed into SPSS for analysis. Result: Out of 139 postnatal mothers, 75.5% had a poor level of awareness and only 24.4% had a good level of awareness regarding neonatal danger signs. Similarly, 82% of the respondents had poor practice on neonatal danger signs. Only 18% had good practice on neonatal danger signs. Conclusion: Mothers’ awareness and practice level about neonatal danger signs in rural Nepal is extremely low even though the coverage of maternal and child health care services are expanded. Existing efforts should be enhanced for antenatal care visits, community awareness through health education & awareness program which helps to improve the mother’s knowledge and practice on neonatal danger signs and avoiding early marriage as well as early childbearing. Key words: Awareness, practice, neonatal danger signs, newborn care,