Newborn care practices and health seeking behavior in rural eastern Ethiopia: a community based study

Background: Most of the newborns death in developing countries occur at home. Up to two-thirds of these deaths would have been prevented if mothers and newborns receive known and effective interventions. The objective of this study is to determine newborn care practices and health seeking behavior in rural eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Adadle District, Ethiopian Somali Regional State. A multi stage random sampling technique was applied. Women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) living in the Adadle District were eligible to participate in the study. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 19 for windows. Results: A total of 829 women between the ages of 15 and49 years were involved in the study.. Of which, 698 women had a live birth, 23% reported that their babies were placed skin-to-skin with their mothers’ belly/chest before the placenta was delivered, 79% of newborns were bathed within 24 hours of delivery. From this figure, 71% of the babies were bathed within the first 12 hours after delivery and 44% reported their baby was ill during the first week of life. Conclusion: The study had shown suboptimal newborns practice in the study area, which put the newborns into significant health risk. Strong public education and capacity building to frontline health workers can be recommended.