Umbilical Cord Care Knowledge and Practice among Caregivers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Aim: To assess the knowledge and practice of current cord care recommendations among care givers in Yenagoa, and to identify gaps to be addressed to prevent neonatal sepsis.

Study Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the well-child clinics (WCC) of 3 major healthcare facilities in Yenagoa namely, Agudama Primary Health Centre, Yenizue-gene Comprehensive Health Centre, and Diete Koki Memorial Hospital, from August to September 2023.

Methodology: The study was conducted among 285 caregivers in the study sites. Data on cord care knowledge and practices was collected using self-administered structured questionnaires administered proportionately across the study sites. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, from which descriptive statistics were generated. All necessary ethical considerations were upheld.

Results: In this study, 268 (97.1%) of the respondents had antenatal care, over 77% delivered in healthcare facilities, 252 (88.4%) indicated that they knew how to properly care for their children’s cord and 244 (85.6%) had been taught cord care. While 269 (94.4%) respondents were aware of the use of methylated spirit for cord care, only 96 (33.8%) were aware of the use of chlorhexidine gel. Good umbilical cord care knowledge score of 51.6% was obtained while good umbilical cord care practice score was 32.7%.

Conclusion and Recommendation: Modest umbilical cord care knowledge gap and huge practice gap were found in this study. The knowledge gaps were mainly with the use of chlorhexidine gel, dry cord care, and application of substances to the cord, and these reflected remarkably in their practice. There is urgent need for improvement in umbilical cord care knowledge and practice among caregivers, a review of cord care knowledge of frontline health educators and the contents of their cord care education.