Knowledge of Maternal and Newborn Care Among Primary Level Health Workers in Kapilvastu District of Nepal

Background: Higher maternal and neonatal deaths are common in low-and middle-income countries; due to less access to skilled help. Adequate knowledge and skills on maternal and newborn care (MNC) of community health workers can improve maternal and newborn health. Aims: To identify the knowledge of primary level health workers on some components of MNC. Subjects and Methods: Respondents were selected using simple random sampling method. For collecting the data, enumerators visited health institutions for 2 months from 1st October to 31st November 2012, and structured interview schedule was used to gather the information. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a total of one hundred and thirty-seven primary level health workers in Kapilvastu district, Nepal. The Chi-square test was employed to examine the association between the knowledge of health workers on MNC and designation and work experience. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Results: In a total of 137 primary level health workers, more than half 53.2% (73/137) were senior auxiliary health workers/health assistant. Health workers having correct knowledge on contents of MNC were-registration 32.1% (44/137), major components of antenatal care 57.7% (79/137), danger signs of pregnancy 39.4% (54/137), five cleans 59.1% (81/137), postnatal health problems 54.0% (74/137), majority to health action to newborn care, newborn bath and meaning of exclusive breastfeeding. There was a statistical association between designation of health workers and above-mentioned components of MNC (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The differentials in the knowledge of MNC among primary level health suggest improving knowledge of the grass root level health workers with appropriate training and development programs.