Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Women Towards the Neonatal Jaundice in Pakistan

Neonatal Jaundice is a significant worldwide common condition that occurs in almost 80% of preterm and 50-60% of full-term newborn infants. NNJ is a significant contributor to infant morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world. NNJ can cause many significant complications including irreversible brain damage and even cause death in severe cases. The descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 107 women in the rural community of Sharqpur, Sheikhupura district, Punjab province of Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of women towards Neonatal jaundice. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. The result of the study showed that only 37.38% participants had good knowledge about Neonatal Jaundice. There was no statistically significant association between their age and their knowledge about Neonatal jaundice. Only 10.2% participants knew that it can cause brain injury. Only 11.21% participants heard about neonatal jaundice from a physician, while the majority of respondent’s source information was old aged family members and friends. The attitude of participants towards seeking medical consultation was 83.98%. Results show that participants widely believe that putting a baby under early morning sunshine and giving glucose water is the most effective treatment of Neonatal jaundice, 90.6 and 75.7% respectively. This study reveals that women of community Sharqpur have enough knowledge related to recognition of Neonatal jaundice. However, I had poor knowledge about many aspects of the condition. This study reveals that participants have a good attitude towards Neonatal jaundice, but their management measure and practice of it is ineffective with a lot of misconception