Investigation on early essential newborn care practices in 124 baby-friendly hospitals / 中华围产医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the implementation of early essential newborn care (EENC) in baby-friendly hospitals in China.Methods:This is an investigation carried out using convenience sampling method. People in charge of labor ward, obstetric wards or neonatology department of the selected hospitals, such as baby-friendly hospitals with birth facilities, primary or higher level of hospitals, or general hospitals or those specialized in obstetrics and gynecology or materal and child health care centers, were selected as the subjects of the survey. Information about EENC practices in these hospitals was collected using a self-designed questionnaire sent through WeChat from April 1 to 30, 2021. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 126 questionnaires were distributed and 124 (124 baby-friendly hospitals) were withdrawn. There were 74 hospitals in the eastern, 18 in the central and 32 in the western region. Among the 124 hospitals, tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, and maternity and child care hospitals accounted for 72.6% ( n=90), 64.5% ( n=80) and 35.5% ( n=44), respectively. There were no significant differences in the hospital type, levels, EENC coverage and training, or implementation of mainly recommended EENC practices among the hospitals in the eastern, central and western regions (all P>0.05). The implementation rate of at least one mainly recommended EENC practice was 79.0% (98/124) and there was no significant difference in the implementation rates among eastern, central and western regions [86.4% (64/74), 13/18 and 65.6% (21/32), χ2=6.60, P=0.159]. A total of 80 (64.5%) hospitals implemented 10 or more recommended EENC practices, and the implementation rates in eastern, central and western regions were 71.6% (53/74), 10/18 and 53.1% (17/32), respectively ( χ2=4.08, P=0.130). Among the 17 mainly recommended measures of EENC, in eastern, central and western hospitals, the implementation rates were 10.8% (8/74), 2/18 and 18.8% (6/32) for mother-infant skin-to-skin contact for 90 min after birth; 66.2% (49/74), 11/18 and 68.8% (22/32) for delayed umbilical cord clamping; and 25.7% (19/74), 7/18 and 21.9% (7/32) for delayed routine care following skin-to-skin contact, respectively ( χ2=6.57, 0.34 and 4.53, all P>0.05). Conclusions:There is a big gap between the implementation of EENC in most baby-friendly hospitals in eastern, central and western China and the recommendation of the World Health Organization. It is necessary to further strengthen and standardize the implementation of EENC practices in baby-friendly hospitals in our country to continuously improve the health of newborns.