Sri Lankan postnatal mothers’ early essential newborn care knowledge and readiness for discharge

Introduction: Early essential newborn care (EENC) knowledge and adequate support are important to the postnatal mother to achieve positive health outcomes, fewer hospital readmissions and lower health care costs.
Objectives: To assess postnatal mothers’ knowledge on EENC, readiness for discharge and the factors associated with their EENC knowledge.
Method: A concurrent mixed-method study was conducted in a single centre. In the quantitative strand, EENC knowledge was recorded in a self-administered questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis assessed the determinants of EENC knowledge. In the qualitative strand, a semi-structured guide was used to interview mothers of fifteen newborns to explore readiness to discharge. Interview transcripts underwent thematic content analysis.
Results: A total of 385 mothers was invited to the questionnaire survey. Response rate was 96%. Overall mean (SD) knowledge score was 58.5% (16.6); 34% had less than 50% knowledge score. The most affected domains were breastfeeding technique, cord care, and kangaroo mother care. Multivariate regression revealed that knowledge increased with multiparity (B: 6.67, 95% CI: 2.926, 10.405), maternal education (B: 8.65, 95% CI:3.796,13.510) and household income (B:6.70, 95% CI:1.709, 11.704). Their responses for readiness to discharge were centred around three themes: informational need for routine care, follow-up care and readiness for unexpected events, and post-discharge support for newborn care.       
Conclusions: Knowledge gaps in breastfeeding, cord care, and kangaroo mother care were observed. Women in the lower socioeconomic group and primigravidae were likelier to have lower knowledge.