Low knowledge of newborn danger signs among pregnant women in Papua New Guinea and implications for health seeking behaviour in early infancy - findings from a longitudinal study

Globally, 2.5 million babies die in the first 28 days of life each year with most of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Early recognition of newborn danger signs is important in prompting timely care seeking behaviour. Little is known about women's knowledge of newborn...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2023-01, Vol.23 (1), p.71-71, Article 71
Main Authors:	Eghrari, Donya, Scoullar, Michelle J L, Wilson, Alyce N, Peach, Elizabeth, Elijah, Arthur, Melepia, Pele, SupSup, Hadlee, Vallely, Lisa M, Siba, Peter M, Kennedy, Elissa C, Vogel, Joshua P, Homer, Caroline S E, Robinson, Leanne J, Fowkes, Freya J I, Pomat, William, Crabb, Brendan S, Beeson, James G, Morgan, Christopher J
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Antenatal and postpartum education Babies Births Care seeking Childbirth & labor Danger signs Education Expenditures Families & family life Female Health facilities Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Infant Infant mortality Infant, Newborn Interviews Knowledge Longitudinal Studies Maternal & child health Mothers Newborn Obstetrics Papua New Guinea Parturition Patient Acceptance of Health Care Pregnancy Pregnant Women Prenatal Care Prospective Studies Questionnaires Surveys and Questionnaires Womens health
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Globally, 2.5 million babies die in the first 28 days of life each year with most of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Early recognition of newborn danger signs is important in prompting timely care seeking behaviour. Little is known about women's knowledge of newborn danger signs in Papua New Guinea. This study aims to assess this knowledge gap among a cohort of women in East New Britain Province. This study assessed knowledge of newborn danger signs (as defined by the World Health Organization) at three time points from a prospective cohort study of women in East New Britain Province, factors associated with knowledge of danger signs after childbirth were assessed using logistic regression. This study includes quantitative and qualitative interview data from 699 pregnant women enrolled at their first antenatal clinic visit, followed up after childbirth (n = 638) and again at one-month post-partum (n = 599). Knowledge of newborn danger signs was very low. Among the 638 women, only 9.4% knew three newborn danger signs after childbirth and only one knew all four essential danger signs defined by Johns Hopkins University 'Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness' Index. Higher knowledge scores were associated with higher gravidity, income level, partner involvement in antenatal care, and education. Low levels of knowledge of newborn danger signs among pregnant women are a potential obstacle to timely care-seeking in rural Papua New Guinea. Antenatal and postnatal education, and policies that support enhanced education and decision-making powers for women and their families, are urgently needed.
ISSN:	1471-2393 1471-2393