title: Development and evaluation of a newborn care education programme in primiparous mothers in Nepal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  the health and survival of newborns depend on high levels of attention and care from caregivers. The growth and development of some infants are unhealthy because of their mother's or caregiver's lack of knowledge or the use of inappropriate or traditional child-rearing practices that may be harmful.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to develop a newborn care educational programme and evaluate its impact on infant and maternal health in Nepal.
  
  
  METHODS
  a randomised controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  one hundred and forty-three mothers were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=69) and control (n=74) groups. Eligible participants were primiparous mothers who had given birth to a single, full-term, healthy infant, and were without a history of obstetric, medical, or psychological problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  prior to being discharged from the postnatal unit, the intervention group received our structured newborn care education programme, which consisted of one-on-one educational sessions lasting 10-15minutes each and one postpartum follow-up telephone support within two weeks after discharge, in addition to the hospital's routine general newborn care education. The control group received only the regular general newborn care education. Outcomes were measured by using Newborn care Knowledge Questionnaires, Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults and infant health and care status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the number of mothers attending the health centre due to the sickness of their babies was significantly decreased in the intervention group compared to the control group. Moreover, the intervention group had significant increases in newborn care knowledge and confidence, and decreases in anxiety, compared with the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the structured newborn care education programme enhanced the infant and mother health. Moreover, it increased maternal knowledge of newborn care and maternal confidence; and reduced anxiety in primiparous mothers. Thus, this educational programme could be integrated into routine educational programs to promote maternal and infant well-being in Nepalese society.
authors.affiliation: National Academic of Medical Science, Bir Hospital Nursing Campus, Mahabouddha, Kathmandu, Nepal. Electronic address: shr_sharmila@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sharmila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Faculty of Human Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Sciences, Nepal. Electronic address: mwadachi@tmu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.affiliation: HOPE School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, PR China. Electronic address: petrinima2012@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marcia A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Petrini
authors.affiliation: Iwamura College of Health Science, Bhaktapur, Nepal. Electronic address: saru55_55@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sarita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Lalitpur Nursing Campus, Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal. Electronic address: bkhagi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Bina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rana Khagi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods; D000068104:Infant Health / Q000592:standards*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D000068097:Maternal Health / Q000592:standards; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009390:Nepal; D010298:Parity; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Maternal anxiety; Maternal knowledge and confidence; Newborn care education programme; Primiparous mothers; Randomised controlled trial