INTRODUCTION:

A newborn baby having less weight than 2.5 kg may be considered as “low birth weight” baby.¹ Weight less than 1.5kg is considered as very low birth weight and weight less than 1kg is considered as extremelylow birth weight.²Every year 23 millions LBW infants born in world in which 0.60 million born in India.³ As children are the basic foundation of future society it its necessity to taken care of them.⁴

Postnatal period is defined as period after delivery.⁵ It is vital to provide postnatal care to women.⁶

OBJECTIVES:

· To assess the knowledge of postnatal women regarding prevention of low birth weight babies.

· To determine association between pretest posttest score selected demographic variable.

METHODOLOGY:

A quantitative approach was used for this study.⁷ The goal of quantitative approach is to collect data from postnatal mothers.⁸ The main goal of the present study is to assess the knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies among postnatal women.⁹

Setting of the study:

The present study was conducted in a selected hospital of visnagar for assessing the knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies among postnatal women.

Population:

In this study population comprises of postnatal women from selected hospital of visnagar

Sample:

All the postnatal women of the selected hospital of visnagar were selected for assessment of knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies.

Sampling technique:

In this study simple random sampling technique was used to select the postnatal women for study

Plan for data analysis:

It was decided to analyze the data by descriptive statistics on the basis of objectives and hypothesis of the study.¹⁰ Master data sheet would be prepared by the investigator to analyze the data. The data will be analyzed in terms of descriptive (mean, percentage, standard deviation, mean percentage)

Analysis:

Section I: Sample characteristics:

· Highest percentage (50%) of the subjects were in the age group of 21-25 years

· Highest percentage (87%) of the subjects belonged to Hindu religion

· Many of (53%) the subjects had nuclear family

· Highest percentage (75%) of the subjects were in the group of housewife

· Many (52%) of the subjects were completed primary education.

Section II: Assessment of the knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies:

· Knowledge regarding low birth weight babies shows that out of total 6 score the sample had 3.53 mean score and 58.83% mean percentage.

· The knowledge regarding causes and risk factor of low birth weight babies shows that out of total score 14, the sample had 10.01 mean score and 71.5% mean percentage

· The knowledge regarding prevention of low birth weight babies shoes that out of total score 9, the sample had 6.14 mean and 68.22% mean percentage.

Conclusions:

The following conclusions were drawn on the basis of the findings of the study.

· Majority (65%) sample have average knowledge regarding low birth weight management and prevention

· 19% samples have poor knowledge regarding low birth weight management and prevention

· 16% sample have good knowledge regarding low birth weight management and prevention.

Recommendations:

On the basis of present study, the following recommendations are formed for future study:

A comparative study can be done between antenatal and post women to assess the knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies.

A comparative study can be done between urban and rural women to assess the knowledge regarding prevention and management of low birth weight babies.

A experimental study can be conduct after the implementation of health education to assess the knowledge and attitude of the antenatal women.

References:

1. Effectiveness of Kangaroo Care on Temperature and Weight Gain in Low Birth Weight Babies of Post Natal Mothers at Selected Hospitals in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 3(3): July-Sept., 2015; Page 260-262.

2. Gayathri S., Sampada S., Hiral R., Manisha, Silvi R., Yashvanti V. A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Kangaroo Mother Care among Mothers of Low Birth Weight Babies at Selected Hospital at Rajkot Dist. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 4(1): Jan.-Mar., 2016; Page 45-46

3. B. N. Phanase. Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme (STP) on knowledge regarding care of low birth weight babies among staff nurses working at hospitals of Vidarbha region. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research.2016; 4(2):95-98.

4. K. M. Sathya Devi, Latha Venkatesan, Lizy Sonia. Effectiveness of Clinical Pathway for Postnatal Mothers with Vaginal Delivery upon the Knowledge and Practice of Nurses and Maternal Outcome. Asian J. Nur. Edu. and Research 2(3): July-Sept. 2012; Page 165-170

5. Kaur Gagandeep, Kaur Ramandeep, Sharma Sonia. A Quasi Experimental Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Postnatal Complications among High Risk Antenatal Mothers attending Antenatal Outpatient Department at Selected Hospitals of Jalandhar, Punjab. Int. J. Adv. Nur. Management 3(4): Oct. - Dec. 2015; Page 329-333.

6. Kul Pooja, Kumari Lalita, Kaur Amritpal. A Quasi Experimental Study to Assess the Effect of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Neonatal Warning Signs among Postnatal Mothers in Selected Hospitals of Jalandhar, Punjab, 2015. Int. J. Adv. Nur. Management 4(1): Jan. - Mar. 2016; Page 19-23.

7. Teena Jacob , Sandhya D’Almeida. A Pre-experimental study to assess the Effectiveness of the Self-instructional Module (SIM) on Knowledge regarding Prevention and Management of selected Breast Disorders during Postnatal Period among Antenatal Mothers in Third Trimester visiting a selected Antenatal Clinic at Mangalore. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 2(2): April- June 2014; Page 166-169.

8. Effectiveness of Kangaroo Care on Temperature and Weight Gain in Low Birth Weight Babies of Post Natal Mothers at Selected Hospitals in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 3(3):July-Sept., 2015; Page 260-262.

9. Meeral Kalariya. A Study to Assess Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge and Practice Regarding Postnatal Exercises among Postnatal Mother in Selected Hospitals of Valsad District. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research 3(3):July-Sept., 2015; Page 281-283.

10. Venu.A.S, Naveen Kumar P.R, Prashanth. H.M, Sridhara K.M. A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Common Minor Neonatal Problems and its Management among Postnatal Mothers Admitted in S.S Hospital, Davangere, Karnataka. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research.2016; 4(2):129-135.

Received on 27.04.2020 Modified on 06.06.2020

Asian J. Nursing Education and Research. 2021; 11(1):5-6.

DOI: 10.5958/2349-2996.2021.00002.1