KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES REGARDING OF NEONATAL HEALTH AMONG MOTHERS IN CHIKUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE
Abstract
Caregivers play an important role in the care of neonates and the prevention of neonatal deaths. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of neonatal health among mothers in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state. A community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 147 mothers were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and results were presented in tables and charts. The mean age of respondents was 33.4 ± 6.9 years. Most respondents were married (90%), attained tertiary level of education (61.2%) and had two or fewer children (53.1%). The respondents had fair knowledge (48.3%), good attitudes (95.9%) and fair practice (56.5%) regarding neonatal health. Maternal knowledge and practice regarding neonatal health were suboptimal. There is a need to mount interventions aimed at educating mothers to improve their knowledge and practices related to neonatal care and the well-being of their babies.