292 Original articleEvaluation of knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice among parturient mothers in a sec-ondary health care centre in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria Okposio MM 1 , Adebanjo EO 2 IntroductionNewborn jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of the skin, and mucous membrane occurring in a newborn as a result of increase in the level of serum bilirubin. 1 Worldwide, newborn jaundice occurs in about 60% of term newborns and 80% of preterm newborns, the majority of which resolves without any treatment. 2 However, in about 8-10% of newborns, neonatal jaundice can be severe, and is generally diagnosed when total serum bilirubin levels are > 95 percentile for age in hours. 3 The dangers of elevated levels of bilirubin in the newborn have been well documented, and these include amongst others cerebral palsy, mental retardation, dental dysplasia, upward gaze paralysis and hearing loss. 4 For these reasons, newborns that develop jaundice need to be closely observed while those with severe newborn jaundice should have immediate medical intervention.Newborn jaundice has remained one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in our environment. This is essentially because of delay in seeking appropriate treatment and/or improper treatment often instituted at home. 5,6 These actions or inactions are often borne out of the level of knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice by Abstract:Background: Newborn jaundice has remained one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. It is believed that delays in detection and/or inappropriate treatment may largely be responsible for this. Given that most mothers are now discharged home 24 hours after a normal delivery, the responsibility to detect jaundice in the new-born and take appropriate decision now rest with the mothers. This study therefore sought to evaluate the knowledge and perception of newborn jaundice among parturient mothers. Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 255 parturient mothers at the lying-in ward of Mariere Memorial Central Hospital. A structured, pre-tested, interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from the mothers. SPSS version 16 was employed in the analysis of the data. Results: Of the 255 parturient mothers interviewed, only 156 (61.2%) affirmed their awareness of newborn jaundice and only these mothers were further analysed. Their mean age was 30.2±5.4 and a median parity of 2. Thirty-seven (23.7%) of the mothers had tertiary education and just about half (50.6%) of the mothers knew that newborn jaundice presents with yellowish discoloration of the body and sclera. Three (1.9%) of the mothers knew that haemolysis is an underlying cause of jaundice and four (2.6%) mothers each correctly mentioned phototherapy and exchange blood transfusion as treatment modalities. Health talk given at the antenatal clinic was the source of information by 81 (51.9%) of the mothers. Conclusion:This study showed that the knowledg...
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