A study to assess the knowledge and practice of postnatal mothers on prevention of selected puerperal infections in a selected maternity hospital

Dr. Lalitha H

A study to assess the knowledge and practice of postnatal mothers on prevention of selected puerperal infections in a selected maternity hospital

Authors
Dr. Lalitha H

Abstract
Motherhood should be a time of expectations and joy for a woman, her family and her community. For woman in developing countries, however the reality of motherhood is often grim. For these women motherhood is often marred by unforeseen complications of pregnancy and child birth and among these complications, the one of the most common one is the puerperal infection, commonly known as postnatal sepsis which involves infections of genital organs that occur during the first six weeks after child birth. The most common Puerperal infections include endometritis, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, wound infections and mastitis. Puerperal infection is the leading cause of nosocomial infections, maternal morbidity and mortality.

Method: The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge and practice of postnatal mothers on prevention of selected puerperal infections. A non-experimental survey approach with a descriptive study design was adopted. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample and a structured interview schedule was developed to collect the data from the subjects.

rnResult: The overall mean percentage of knowledge score was 52% and the overall practice score was 66.8% on prevention of puerperal infections.

Conclusion: The knowledge and practice of postnatal mothers on preventions of puerperal infections was not adequate and the study recommended for health educational packages for the postnatal mothers on prevention of puerperal infections.

Download | Pages : 01-03