State of Play of the Mothers's Involvement in the Care of the Newborn in Abidjan (Cote D'ivoire)

Introduction: The implication of the mothers in the management seems to improve the prognosis of the newborns hospitalized but not yet studied in Côte d’Ivoire. The aim is to study the involvement of mothers in the management of hospitalized newborns to improve prognosis.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in neonatalogy at the Yopougon Teaching Hospital from 09 July to 08 August 2018. It included mothers of consenting hospitalized newborns and health personnel present at the time of the survey. The variables studied focused on the socio-demographic aspects and the involvement of mothers in the care of the newborn.

Results:  A total of 97 mothers and 40 health workers (10 doctors, 30 caregivers) out of a staff of 52 were investigated. The participation rate of the study staff was 77%. 70% of the staff had less than 5 years of professional experience. He knew the definition and importance of involving mothers in care. For them, the involvement of the mothers would help to better care for the newborn in 60% but the obstacle lay in the difficulty of learning mothers (65%) and overwork (65%). The mother interviewed was primiparous (44%), out of school (77%) and her newborn was 61% in term. She wanted to be involved in the care (99%), trained in the care administered (84%) and have information on the state of health of her child (84%).

Conclusion: To improve the involvement of mothers in the care of the newborn, the capacity of the service, staff and mothers must be strengthened.

Keywords: health staff, mother, involvement, newborn, Ivory Coast.