Mother’s Practices Concerning Care of Low-Birth-Weight Neonates in Rapareen Teaching Hospital for Children in Erbil City

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Low birth weight is a major contributor to an indirect cause of neonatal mortality. The study's goal was to evaluate mothers' practice regarding low-birth-weight neonate's care. Methods: This is a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study. The research was conducted at Erbil's Rapareen Teaching Hospital for Children. Non-probability (purposive) sample of 245 mothers who visited the NICU at RTHC. The questionnaire format was used to collect data during a direct face to face interview. The data collecting period was from January 1st to August 1st, 2022, with interviews lasting roughly 20-30 minutes. Neonates with low birth weights who were admitted to the hospital were included. Formal and ethical authorization was obtained prior to data collection. Validity is determined by a panel of 15 experts in the field. Pearson correlation was used to determine and quantify internal consistency reliability, which was 0.81. The pilot trial included 15 mothers. The connection between variables was determined using inferential statistical analysis (Chi-square). A P-value is regarded statistically significant if it ≤ 0.05. Results: The study results reveal, housewives outnumbered mothers aged between 27 to 33 years old. Completed secondary school. We had a middle-class income and lived in the city. Normal vaginal delivery was used to birth the babies. In public hospitals, neonates aged 1 to 5 days were born, with females being the majority. Most women examine the umbilical cord for symptoms of infection. Moreover, half of those interviewed did not apply ointment to their skin. Furthermore, the study found a statistically significant association between socio-demographic characteristics such as the mother's age at marriage, mode of delivery, antenatal care, house ownership, the mother's occupation, socioeconomic status, and the mothers' practices, with p-values of 0.002, 0.004, 0.012, 0.033, 0.007, and 0.034, respectively. Conclusion: The outcome of the study revealed that most ..

Keywords

• Mothers
• Intensive Care Units
• Low Birth Weight
• Umbilical Cord
• Occupations