Knowledge and Practices Related to Hip-Healthy Swaddling for Newborns Among Maternity Nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Infant Care Practices
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Hip-healthy swaddling is crucial for newborn development.
• Understanding nurses' knowledge and teaching practices is essential for improving infant care.
• Existing education on swaddling may not adequately cover hip-healthy techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess registered maternity nurses' self-reported knowledge of hip-healthy swaddling.
• To evaluate how nurses educate parents on swaddling techniques.
• To identify relationships between nurses' knowledge, education, and practices.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional exploratory survey was conducted.
• 104 registered maternity nurses from an academic women's and children's hospital participated.
• Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square/Fisher's exact tests.

Main Results:

• 18.9% of nurses could not identify the correct hip-healthy swaddling position.
• While 64.2% received general swaddling education, 14.8% of those could not identify the correct hip-healthy position.
• Nurses reported teaching parents swaddling in most interactions (67.0% in >75% of interactions).

Conclusions:

• A significant knowledge gap exists among maternity nurses regarding hip-healthy swaddling.
• There is a clear need for enhanced and targeted educational initiatives for nurses.
• Improving nurses' understanding will enhance their ability to teach effective infant swaddling to parents.