Postnatal care services use by mothers: A comparative study of defaulters versus attendees of postnatal clinics in Enugu

• Published in: PloS one 2023-01, Vol.18 (3), p.e0280315
• Main Authors: Chidinma Ifechi Onwuka, Euzebus Chinonye Ezugwu, Samuel Nnamdi Obi, Chidozie Onwuka, Cyril Chukwudi Dim, Chibuike Chigbu, Eric Asimadu, Ijeoma Victoria Ezeome, Tochukwu Christopher Okeke, Chukwuemeka Anthony Iyoke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280315

IntroductionDespite much emphasis on the reproductive health of women, maternal mortality is still high, especially in postnatal period.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of postnatal care use and reasons for defaults among mothers attending the child immunization clinics in Enugu, Nigeria.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional comparative study of 400 consecutive nursing mothers who presented at the Institute of Child Health of UNTH and ESUTH, Enugu for Second dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV2) for their babies at 10 weeks postpartum. Data was collected using Interviewer-administered questionnaire and subsequently analyzed with version 22.0 IBM SPSS software, Chicago, Illinois. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.ResultThe prevalence of the 6th week postnatal clinic attendance among the mothers was 59%. The majority of the women (60.6%) who had antenatal care by skilled birth attendants attended postnatal clinic. Unawareness and being healthy were the main reasons for not attending postnatal clinic. Following multivariate analysis, place of antenatal (OR = 2.870, 95% C.I = 1.590-5.180, p < 0.001) and mode of delivery (OR = 0.452, 95% C.I = 0.280-0.728, p = 0.001) were the only significant predictors of postnatal clinic attendance (p < 0.05).ConclusionPostnatal clinic attendance by women in Enugu is still suboptimal. The main reason for non-attendance of the 6th week postnatal clinic was lack of awareness. There is need for healthcare professionals to create awareness about the importance of postnatal care and encourage mothers to attend.