Umbilical Cord Care Practices among Lactating Mothers in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the umbilical cord care practices and management of outcomes among lactating mothers in Bauchi State. Cross-sectional household survey was adopted for the purpose of this study.  The population of this study comprised the entire lactating mothers in Bauchi State which is estimated at 342,687 lactating mothers as at 2022 and multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample of 600 lactating mothers for the study. The research instrument was validated and the result was divided into two halves which were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient and Coefficient of 0.78 was determined. Descriptive statistical techniques of frequency count and percentage were used to organize the demographic characteristics of the respondents and one sample t-test was used to analyzed all postulated hypotheses all advanced at 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of study showed that there is no significant difference in the knowledge of accepted cord care management practices among lactating mothers in Bauchi State, Nigeria; there is no significant difference in the various substances used by lactating mothers for umbilical cord management in Bauchi State, Nigeria; there is no significant difference in the techniques for cord management among lactating mothers in Bauchi State; there is significant relationship between the knowledge of accepted cord care management practices and the various substance used by lactating mothers in Bauchi State; It was recommended among others that governmental and non-governmental organizations should be organizing sensitization campaigns at regular intervals to educate women of child bearing age in general and pregnant mothers in particular on the accepted cord care practices to prevent neonatal infection, hence reducing the newborn deaths through adopting proper cord stump care and house to house free distribution of Chlorhexidine pregnant mothers in third trimester should be made on quarterly basis to discourage use of various unhealthy substances used for umbilical cord care by lactating mothers.