ABSTRACT
Introduction: Hygienic umbilical cord care is necessary for the well-.being of the newborn. Health education is a strong tool for lifestyle modification aimed at healthy living. This ought to extend to mothers who care for their infants' umbilical cord stump in various ways especially after discharge from hospital. The content of health education on cord care given to mothers (if any) at various health institutions which they accessed for antenatal care is thus worth evaluating. Objective: To evaluate the content of health education on cord care given to mothers at various health facilities which served as their places of antenatal care in Benin City; Nigeria. Methods: The study subjects included mothers who brought their babies to Well Baby/Immunization Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); Benin City; Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to assess their biodata; places of antenatal care; whether health education on cord care constituted part of the services received in health facilities and the content of the cord care education. Results: Of the 497 subjects studied; 487 (98.0) received antenatal care (ANC) in both orthodox and unorthodox facilities. Amongst these; 352 (72.3) received health education on cord care while 135 (27.7) did not. Teaching and private hospitals contributed 116 (48.9) and 103 (43.5) respectively to the total documentation of the advice concerning use of methylated spirit alone. The relationship between content of health education on cord care and method of cord care practiced by mothers was statistically significant. Conclusion: Health education on cord care is lacking in some of our health facilities and where available; content may not be evidence-based. We must equip health workers with facts required to enlighten patients. A standard and universal method of cord care should be adopted to reduce or abolish the confusion which mothers presently encounter in caring for their babies' umbilical cords
Subject(s)
Health Education , Hospitals, Teaching , Hygiene , Mothers , Nigeria , Umbilical CordABSTRACT
The transmission of HIV via breastmilk has led to various recommendations for HIV-infected mothers. In this study, the feeding practices of HIV-infected mothers in the first six months of their infants' lives were evaluated. In total, 103 consecutive mothers of children, aged 6-24 months, were evaluated for their feeding practices in the first six months of their infants' lives. The mothers were recruited in two cohorts based on their entry (PMTCT cohort) or non-entry (non-PMTCT cohort) to an HIV MTCT-prevention programme. Information obtained included maternal age, socioeconomic class, and the educational level attained. All the babies in the non-PMTCT cohort were breastfed compared to none in the PMTCT cohort. Infant formula was inadequately prepared for 77.42% of babies in the non-PMTCT cohort compared to 18.64% in the PMTCT cohort. The mixed-feeding rate was high (70.45%) in the non-PMTCT cohort. Over 70% of babies in both the cohorts were bottle-fed. Voluntary counselling and testing services in the healthcare system should be strengthened. All mothers should receive infant-feeding counselling, with exclusive breastfeeding being encouraged in those with unknown HIV status.