ABSTRACT
Background: Primary objective was to compare hemoglobin at 9 months and secondary objective was to compare birth weight, cord hemoglobin and serum ferritin at 9 months between infants born to anaemic and non anaemic mothers.Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we compared cord hemoglobin, birth weight, hemoglobin at 09 months & serum ferritin at 09 months in infants of anaemic and non anaemic mothers. 'Subject of the study was all inborn term infants (n = 344).Results: Cord blood hemoglobin was similar between infants born to anaemic and non anaemic mothers. However, infants born to anaemic mothers weighed less at birth and had lower hemoglobin at 9 months of age.Conclusions: Infants born to anaemic mothers are at higher risk of developing anaemia in late infancy which may remain undetected at birth.
ABSTRACT
Background: Fever in children is the commonest cause for outpatient and inpatient admissions in the health care setup. Though most fever episodes are benign with self-limiting course, it is often a reason for anxiety and concerning for parents. The aim of the study was to assess the parental knowledge, attitude and practice regarding fever in children under five years of age.Methods: A cross-sectional question based survey, conducted in the pediatric department of a peripheral hospital in Pune, Maharashtra from parents of under five children, presenting for any consultation from July 2018 to December 2018.Results: There were 636 respondents who completed the study. 38.1% were males. Mean age of responders was 26.85 years (SD 5.12 Range 18 to 37 years). Most of the population were educated lot. 55.5% responders defined fever correctly. There was a huge gap in the parent's knowledge attitude and practice in fever and it's management. Lack of information and fear of any untoward incident occurring due to fever were the reason for parental anxiety, frequent medication & combination antipyretic use, and pressure on part of health professionals to increase antibiotic prescriptions.Conclusions: Lack of parental knowledge of fever and fever management in younger children is of concern in the community in spite of improvement in the educational level of parents. There is a utmost need to spread awareness in the community about the benign and the self-limiting nature of most febrile illnesses.
ABSTRACT
Background: Acute diarrhea in children is among the commonest causes of outpatient and inpatient attendance in medical setup. Though enough has been done in imparting knowledge about diarrhea and its management, there is a gap between knowledge and practice in the population. Aim of the study is to assess the mother's knowledge, attitude and practice about diarrhea in children.Methods: Cross-sectional survey, conducted in the pediatric department of a peripheral hospital in Pune, Maharashtra.Results: Of the 305 mothers surveyed, their knowledge about diarrhea was good with 77.1% knowing correct definition, and most mothers knowing correctly about its mode of transmission, the positive role of good hygiene & sanitation, breast feeding and oral rehydration therapy (ORT) in prevention and management of acute diarrhea. However, their attitude and practice were found lacking, with higher rate of bottle feeding (59.3%) and lesser use of standard (46.3%) as well as home based (69.9%) ORT measures.Conclusions: There is discrepancy between the knowledge and practice. Hence, there is the need of sustained efforts in imparting both knowledge and practice among the population.