Knowledge of Neonatal Danger Signs and Associated Factors Among Mothers Who Gave Birth in the Past Six Months in Chole District, Arsi Zone, South East Ethiopia: Cross sectional Study

Background: Early detection of neonatal illness by mothers is an important step towards improving newborn survival. Even though mother’s knowledge of neonatal danger signs plays a critical role in reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality, studies on the area are limited and most of them are institution-based study which do not include rural mothers and mothers with home delivery. Therefore, the study aimed to assess knowledge of neonatal danger signs and associated factors among mother’s who gave birth in the past 6 months.Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 520 postnatal mothers by using multistage sampling method from March 1-15, 2019. The data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and then exported into SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were used by using binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with mother’s knowledge of neonatal danger signs. Statistical significance was declared at p-value less than 0.05. Results: Mother’s level of knowledge on neonatal danger signs was found to be 50.2% (95%CI: 46.3%, 54.3%). Mother’s and husband’s secondary and above educational level [AOR= 2.15 95%CI: (1.11, 4.17)], and [AOR: 2.05, 95%CI: (1.07, 3.94) respectively, being in Urban [AOR=5.83, 95%CI: (2.77, 12.24)], had four or more antenatal visits [AOR: 2.10, 95%CI: (1.13, 3.90)], counseled during antenatal care [AOR= 4.33 95%CI: (1.88, 9.98)] and knowledge about essential newborn care [AOR=3.91 95%CI: (2.05, 7.48)] were significantly associated with mother’s knowledge of neonatal danger signs. Conclusion: The study revealed that mother’s level of knowledge towards neonatal danger signs was low. Mother’s educational status, husband’s educational status, place of residence, number of antenatal visits, counseled during antenatal visit and knowledge about essential newborn care were significantly associated.

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