Abstract

Essential newborn care is a wide-ranging approach planned to improve the health of newborn through interventions after pregnancy. In Ethiopia, about 120,000 newborns die every year in the first weeks of life which accounts for 42% of all deaths of under-five mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of essential newborn care practices among mothers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the  enroll 576 women in the first six weeks of post-partum attending ANC in Addis Abeba Health facility. Data were gathered through the use of pre tested standard questionnaire. The collected data were uploaded to computer using EpiData version 3.1. and the analysis was made through SPSS package version 21. Logistic regression was carried out to assess possible associations. The strength of association was measured at P<0.05 with 95% confidence interval. The study revealed that the level of essential newborn care practices was 38.8%. Education and advise about essential newborn care practices during and after birth by skilled birth attendants (OR=2.17, 95%, CI=1.42,3.31), home visit by health  extension  worker (OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.03,2.32) and place of delivery at health center (OR=7.69, 95% CI =1.32, 36.42), at private health facility (OR=9.18, 95% CI=1.32, 63.75) and government hospital (OR=6.68, 95% CI =1.32, 33.87) were found to have statistically significant association with essential newborn care practices. The result of this study indicated that the level of essential newborn care practices was low. Government should take remedial action to improve newborn care practice.

Key words: Essential new born care, postpartum, Ethiopia.