Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards maternal healthcare among mothers in Illam: a cross-sectional study from Nepal

Introduction: Healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth and after delivery is important for the survival and well-being of both the mother and the neonate. Maternal healthcare in Nepal faces challenges due to various causes. However, providing proper knowledge on maternal healthcare to mothers and promoting a positive attitude towards it can have a significant impact on maternal and child health outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards maternal healthcare among mothers in Illam.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 197 mothers in Illam municipality who gave birth within the last 5 years. The study used face-to-face interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data. Descriptive as well as inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results: The total number of participants was 197. The results showed majority (48.22%) belonged to the age group of 22-29 years and the mean age of the participants was 30.2± 5.37, majority were home-makers (44.7%), mean age at marriage was 21.39±3.99 years, mean age at first pregnancy was 23.9±4.33years and mean birth spacing from last child was 70±41.28 months. Overall, we found that knowledge, attitude and practice regarding antenatal care (ANC) were 72%, 83% and 69%, respectively. Similarly, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding post-natal care (PNC) were 39%, 91%, and 43%, respectively.

Conclusions: Mothers showed satisfactory knowledge on ANC but inadequate knowledge on PNC. Most had a positive attitude towards both practices. However, actual practices related to ANC and PNC were poor despite adequate knowledge and attitude.