Early Newborn Bath and Associated Factors among Parturient Women Who Gave Birth in the Last Month in Harar Region, Eastern Ethiopia, 2017.

Abstract

Background: Neonatal thermal care is a vital intervention as newborns are susceptible to hypothermia than adults for certain reasons such as having a large body surface area, thin skin, little insulating fat, and overwhelmed thermoregulation mechanisms. Many newborn complications develop because of hypothermia due to thermal care malpractices. The leading thermal practice by women of developing countries is early bathing which predisposes newborns for life-threatening situations, such as low blood sugar levels, respiratory distress, abnormal clotting, jaundice, pulmonary hemorrhage and increased risk of developing infections. Hence, this research is aimed to provide substantial evidence regarding the women's practices of newborn bath and the factors that determine early (<24hr) bathing.