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UTILIZATION OF POSTNATAL AND NEONATAL CARE SERVICES IN MUSHAR BASTI, MOHATTARI


Author: Champak Kumar Singh*, Hemank KC, Shirjana Shrestha, Dr. Ram Bahadur Shrestha, Navin Kumar Sah
Assistant Professor, National Academy for Medical Sciences, Purbanchal University, Kathmandu Nepal.
Published Date: 2025-05-28
Keywords: Postnatal and Neonatal care services, Utilization, Mushar Basti.
Abstract:
Background: Postnatal care (PNC) & Neonatal care is an important part of maternal care, as serious and life-threatening complications can occur in the postpartum period & premature period, even in a woman who had an uneventful pregnancy and delivery. Utilization of Postnatal & neonatal care services is very vital to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity as well as good health of children for the developing country like Nepal. A postnatal care service was utilized very less by people than antenatal services. Therefore, a proper understanding for the utilization of postnatal & neonatal care services during postnatal & neonatal period is important for the sound health of both mother and newborn. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 157 mothers. Purposive sampling was adapted for area selection while the respondents were selected by using snow-ball sampling method. A semi structured questionnaire was prepared whereas face to face interview was done for information collection. The privacy and confidentiality of the collected data was maintained. Findings: Only about half of the respondents i.e. 56.1% had attended postnatal care services during their last pregnancy and only about one-third of the respondents (40.9%) had complete PNC whereas about 95.45% of them received their first PNC checkup within 24 hours. The study shows that, out of total respondents who had utilized PNC services, about 95.5% of respondents were satisfied with the PNC services provided in health institution. Lack of awareness about the importance of PNC services is the main reason with 46.4% behind not utilized PNC services. Similarly, majority of respondents (64.3%) said they had no proper transportation facility to visit health center. Conclusion: The study reveals that about only half of the respondent (mothers) had utilized Postnatal and Neonatal care services. Postnatal and Neonatal care was provided by either doctor or nurse in the health institutions among which most of them had first postnatal care within 24 hours of delivery. Lack of the awareness about the importance of postnatal and neonatal care services is the main reason behind not utilizing PNC and Neonatal care services. Similarly, about one-third of respondent had no proper transportation facility to visit health center which can be another major barrier for the utilization of postnatal and neonatal care service.