Hand-washing practices by mothers in Port Harcourt are poor. Extensive education of the public is required to reduce the risks of childhood infections associated with lack of hand-washing.

Introduction: Birth injuries although inevitable should be avoided to prevent unnecessary neonatal morbidities and mortalities as well as hospital litigations. Aim: To determine the incidence rate, pattern and outcome of birth injuries occurring in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective study was carried out in the Special Care baby Unit of the hospital. A pre tested proforma was used to collect demographic and pregnancy information from mothers and demographic data, delivery history, type of birth injury and clinical outcome from babies whose parents consented to the study. Results: Thirty-nine of the 5,692 babies delivered during the study period had birth injuries, giving an incidence rate of 6.9 per 1000 live births. The common birth injuries were neurological (26.2%), extracranial (23.8%) and soft tissue injuries (21.4%). Cephalopelvic disproportion (36%), diabetes mellitus in pregnancy (32%) and prolonged labour (20%) were commonly found complications of pregnancy among mothers whose babies had birth injuries. Birth injuries were commoner among males, babies born by normal vaginal delivery and those with birth weights between 2.5-3.9Kg. Neurological injuries were significantly associated with normal vaginal delivery and birth weights of ≥ 4kg while soft tissue injuries were significantly associated with Caesarean section, P value < 0.05. Although majority of them were discharged, mortality rate was 7.7%. Conclusion: Although the incidence of birth injury in this study was low, the morbidity and mortality associated with it are avoidable. Improved antenatal and delivery services are therefore necessary to reduce the incidence of birth injuries. Keywords: Birth injury; Incidence; Pattern; Outcome; Tertiary hospital; Nigeria.

Introduction: Neonatal mortality rate in Nigeria is high and sepsis is a significant contributor. The World Health Organization recommends the use of 7.1% chlorhexidine gel for cord care to prevent neonatal sepsis and mortality. Aim: The study aimed to assess the awareness, attitude and use of chlorhexidine gel for cord care among mothers in Port Harcourt. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in the well-baby clinic in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital for 3 months. A research proforma with questions to assess awareness, attitude and use of chlorhexidine gel for cord care practices among the participants was used to collect data and analyzed with SPSS version 23. A score of 70% or more was taken as benchmark for good awareness, attitude and use. Result: A total of 199 mothers participated in the study, 126(63.3%) had heard of chlorhexidine gel, mostly from antenatal clinics. Thirty (23.8%) knew that it prevents neonatal infections, 74(58.7%) perceived it was effective, but only 19(9.6%) used it. About a third of the mothers had good awareness and attitude towards the use of chlorhexidine gel but only 18(9%) used it correctly. Mothers with tertiary level of education significantly had good attitude towards its use and poor knowledge correlated significantly with poor use, P < 0.05. Conclusion: The level of awareness, attitude and use of CHX in cord care practices in Port Harcourt is poor. There is an urgent need to educate mothers on the proper use and benefits of chlorhexidine gel in cord care practices. Key words: Chlorhexidine gel, Cord Care, Awareness, Attitude, Use, Port Harcourt.

Hand-washing practices by mothers in Port Harcourt are poor. Extensive education of the public is required to reduce the risks of childhood infections associated with lack of hand-washing.

Background: Adequate weaning confers both short and long-term benefits on a child's health and well-being. Weaning practice is determined by a mother's knowledge amongst other factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study carried out from 1 st of June -31 st of May 2021. Assessments were graded as good, fair and poor knowledge or practice. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Fishers' Exact test was used to test for statistical significance, with P value set at <0.05. Results: Most mothers were aged 30-35years 67(38.7%), married 171(98.8%), resided in the urban area 146(84.4%), were traders/businesswomen 73(42.2%), had tertiary education 136(78.6%) and had a parity of 2, 61(35.3%). Majority 110(63.6%) had heard of the word 'weaning' but only 72(43.9%) could correctly define it. Majority 145(83.8%) had good knowledge while 5(2.9%) had poor knowledge. Majority 106(61.3%) had good practice while 2(1.1%) had poor practice. Majority 121(69.9%) of mothers who weaned their babies before 6 months did so because they felt the breast milk was not enough 21(42.6%). Others felt they were stressed 7(14.9%) and because of resumption at work 7(14.9%). Most mothers who stopped breastfeeding before 2 years of age did so mainly because the babies stopped on their own 21(25.6%), ate more of complimentary foods 20(24.4%) and because of work pressure 9(11.1%). There was significant association between the mother's occupation (P value=0.003), and level of education (P value < 0.001) with the level of weaning knowledge. There was a significant association between the level of practice of weaning and male sex (P value=0.016). Conclusion: There was good knowledge and good practice of weaning among mothers attending the paediatric outpatient clinic. There is however still room for improvement of weaning practices by mothers by further education on weaning as well as provision of support by community support groups.