Postnatal Care of Mothers: Knowledge, Nutritional Status and Utilization of Postnatal Care Services

Abstract

Vinutha U Muktamath, Sadhana Kulloli, Priya R Hegde

The enabling environment for safe motherhood depends on the acumen of skilled health personnel and the availability of adequate health-care facilities, equipment, and medicines and emergency care when needed. The goal three of SDG aims at reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. In view of this, a study was conducted to study the knowledge, nutritional status and utilization of postnatal care services by the nursing mother and to develop intervention module to enhance mother’s knowledge on postnatal care on a sample of 200 mother-infant dyads in Dharwad district of Karnataka state. The tools used for the study were a self-structured questionnaire to study the knowledge about care during puerperium, MUAC was measured to assess the nutritional status of lactating women and Aggarwal socio-Economic Status scales were administered [1]. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to study the presence of postpartum depression among mothers [2]. The results revealed that most of the mothers had moderate (66.50 %) anaemia and 7.00 per cent had severe anaemia. Only 42 per cent women had normal nutritional status whereas 31.50 per cent were in moderate under-nutrition category and 10 per cent were in severe undernutrition category Maternal knowledge in four dimensions of public health, breastfeeding and nutrition, contraceptive methods and infant care was low to moderate. An intervention on postnatal care of mother was developed and was tested for its efficacy. The intervention to mothers significantly increased their knowledge on care during puerperium. The results indicate a need for family-based intervention to improve postnatal care of mother for safe motherhood.

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