Abstract:
Objective : To evaluate the effectiveness of a
training program for care providers in improving
practice of essential newborn care in obstetric units.
Design : Before-and-after study with an intervention
and a control group.
Setting : Five hospitals in the Puttalam district in
Sri Lanka.
Participants : Eight hundred and ninety-two
mother-newborn pairs (446 before and 446 three
months after).
Intervention : A 4-day training program on essential
newborn care for doctors, nurses, and midwives
of the obstetric units in two hospitals.
Main Outcome Measures : By direct observation,
practices of essential newborn care at delivery
in the labor room on a subsample. By interviewing
mothers, immediate skin-to-skin contact and early initiation
of breastfeeding. From health records, “ undesirable
health events ” of the newborns.
Results : Practices of cleanliness, thermal protection,
and neonatal assessment improved signifi -
cantly in the intervention group. The intervention was
effective in improving skin-to-skin contact by 1.5 times
and early initiation of breastfeeding by 3.4 times.
Undesirable health events declined from 32 to 21
per 223 newborns in the intervention group and from
20 to 17 per 223 newborns in the control group.
Conclusion : A comprehensive 4-day training
program can be followed by a signifi cant improvement
in essential newborn care practices in obstetric
units.
