www.ijcmr.com Section: Community Health International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research Section: Community Health ISSN (Online): 2393-915X; (Print): 2454-7379 | Volume 8 | Issue 1 | January 2021 A1 Knowledge and Practices of Umbilical Cord Care among Mothers Attending Antenatal Care in the Health Facilities in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria Umar Mohammad Ango 1 , Asmau Adamu 2 , Muhammad Tukur Umar 3 , Musbau A. Tajudeen 4 , Abdullahi Zinat Ahmad 5 , Hamzat Abdulrahman 6 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ABSTRACT Introduction: The risk of cord infection is increased by unhygienic cutting of the cord and application of unclean substances such as sand mixed with saliva, herbal preparations, ashes, palm oil and ground nut oil among others. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practices of umbilical cord care among mothers attending antenatal care in the health facilities in Sokoto metropolis. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 363 pregnant women attending antenatal care in the health facilities in Sokoto metropolis selected by multistage sampling technique. A set of pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on the research variables. Data were analyzed using the IBM ® SPSS version 20 statistical package. Results: Majority (60.3%) of respondents were aged 20-29years with a mean age of 27.62 ±5.4. Most (98.3%) of them were married. Up to (86.0%) of the respondents were Muslims. A larger proportion (42.7%) of the respondents had tertiary education. About half (48.2%) of them were full-time housewives. A high proportion (79.9%) of the respondents delivered their last pregnancy in the hospital. Majority (74.4%) had good knowledge of umbilical cord care while the good practice of umbilical cord was (54.4%) among the respondents. Conclusions: Although the majority of the respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge but the practice of umbilical cord care was suboptimal. Maternal health education on cord care should be emphasized during the antenatal and postnatal clinic visits as well as community education on cord care. Keywords: Knowledge, Practice, Umbilical Cord Care, Pregnant Women, Health Facilities. INTRODUCTION The care of the umbilical cord varies between communities and depends on the level of education of the mothers, cultural and religious beliefs and availability of resources. 1 Umbilical cord infection is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in developing countries 2 . Over one million new- born dies annually as a result of umbilical cord infection .3 The risk of cord infection is increased by unhygienic cutting of the cord and application of unclean substances such as sand mixed with saliva, herbal preparations, and lantern wax. 4 Even babies delivered in hospitals may be affected by traditional practices after discharge which most times lead to umbilical cord infection and death among the neonates. 4 Several hospital-based studies in Nigeria have reported cases of umbilical cord infections, for instance, in the University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, umbilical cord infection accounted for 10% of neonatal admissions and 30% of neonatal deaths. 5 A review of umbilical infection at the University College Hospital Ibadan, showed 18% of neonatal deaths. 6 The incidence of neonatal sepsis from umbilical cord infection keeps increasing because of the increased rate of home deliveries. 7 Little is known on the risk factors for umbilical cord infection especially in the developing countries. 8 However, some of the common risk factors for the development of neonatal omphalitis include low birth weight, prolonged rupture of membrane, umbilical catheterization, and chorioamnionitis. 9,10 Some harmful traditional practices such as the use of old razor blade, an old knife, sharp stones, sewing threads, herbs preparation, palm oil, salt, sand, and saliva were also reported to increase the risk of cord infection. 9,10 The incidence of neonatal cord infection varies from 0.2 – 0.7% in industrialized countries. 11 Nigeria has one of the highest neonatal mortality rate of 37 per 1000 live births. 12 As cord infections are preventable in most cases, it is important to identify the best cord care practice to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity and offer an alternative to widespread potentially harmful traditional practices. 13 The practice of standard umbilical cord care (UCC) among mothers in developing and developed countries reduces the exposure of the umbilical cord to infectious pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. 14,15 In this view, mothers should be familiar with the practice of standard UCC, and prevention of exposure of umbilical 1 Senior Lecturer, Department of Community Health, 2 Senior Lecturer, Department of Paediatrics, 3 Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 4 Student, Department of Community Health, 5 Student, Department of Community Health, 6 Student, Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria Corresponding author: Dr. Umar Mohammad Ango, Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria How to cite this article: Ango UM, Adamu A, Umar MT, Tajudeen MA, Ahmad AZ, Abdulrahman H. Knowledge and practices of umbilical cord care among mothers attending antenatal care in the health facilities in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria. International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research 2021;8(1):A1-A7. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21276/ijcmr.2021.8.1.2