Prevalence, utilization and determinants of complete postnatal care services among rural women in northern Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Postnatal care is the care given to the mother and her newborn baby immediately after birth up to first six weeks after delivery. Receiving 4 complete postnatal visits by healthcare workers helps to decrease the maternal and neonatal mortality rates. The present study was conducted with the aim of assessing the utilization and determinants of post-natal care among mothers who gave birth. This community based cross sectional study was conducted in the rural area of northern Tamilnadu with 210 mothers who delivered a year prior to commencement of study by “30 cluster sampling method”. A pretested, semi-structured data tool was used. Descriptive variables were presented as proportions and frequencies. Chi-square test was used to ascertain the associations. Only 78.1% had received their first postnatal care within 24 hours. The prevalence of complete postnatal care services was found to be 16.2%. The main reason behind it was lack of knowledge / ignorance about the benefits of postnatal services. The present age of the mother, family type, parity, postnatal care counseling and cultural beliefs were significantly associated with utilization of post-natal check-ups. As the prevalence and utilization of postnatal care is considerably low, development of health facilities, the promotion of service providers, sustainable maternal and child health programs and awareness-raising will further promote better outcomes.