Newborn cord care practices in Haiti

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Neonatal Care
• Infectious Disease Prevention

Background:

• Newborn cord infections are a significant cause of neonatal sepsis and mortality, especially in low-resource countries with unhygienic cord care practices.
• Topical chlorhexidine application has demonstrated efficacy in preventing umbilical cord infections.
• Haiti faces particular challenges with neonatal infections due to prevailing cord care customs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current newborn cord care practices and beliefs in Petit-Goâve, Haiti.
• To assess the potential acceptability of adopting chlorhexidine for cord care among community stakeholders.
• To identify barriers and facilitators for implementing improved neonatal cord care interventions.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study was conducted using five focus groups in Petit-Goâve, Haiti.
• Participants included mothers, pregnant women, traditional birth attendants, community health workers, and traditional healers.
• The Health Belief Model guided data collection on perceptions of cord infection risk and intervention adoption.

Main Results:

• Community stakeholders recognized the susceptibility of newborns to cord infections and the associated serious threat.
• Traditional cord care practices were identified as potential barriers to adopting new interventions.
• All groups expressed willingness to adopt safer practices, acknowledging potential harm from traditional methods.

Conclusions:

• There is potential acceptability for altering traditional newborn cord care practices among neonatal caretakers in Haiti.
• An educational campaign promoting chlorhexidine application and discouraging unhygienic practices is recommended.
• This approach could effectively prevent neonatal cord infections in the region.