Mother and Child Protection Card for Promoting Nurturing Care of Early Childhood Development
Murchana Khound1, Rashmi Agarwalla2, Shantasree Ghosh1
1Department of Pediatrics. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Guwahati, Assam, India.
Indian Pediatrics
|November 17, 2025
Summary
The Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card significantly improved maternal knowledge in nurturing care for early childhood development (NC-ECD). Healthcare workers found it effective, though areas like language stimulation need enhancement.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Health Education
Background:
- Early childhood development (ECD) is crucial for lifelong well-being.
- Nurturing care for early childhood development (NC-ECD) encompasses health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, and learning opportunities.
- The Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card is a tool used to guide maternal and child health services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of sensitizing mothers and caregivers on the MCP card for promoting NC-ECD.
- To evaluate healthcare workers' (HCWs) perceptions of the MCP card's effectiveness in promoting NC-ECD.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 100 mothers/caregivers and 72 HCWs in North Guwahati.
- Mothers/caregivers received sensitization on NC-ECD using the MCP card, with pre- and post-intervention knowledge tests.
- HCWs assessed the MCP card's utility via a Likert scale questionnaire.
Main Results:
- Maternal knowledge scores significantly improved post-sensitization (mean increase of 3.6).
- Significant gains were observed in child development monitoring, responsive feeding, language stimulation, motor-cognitive development, hygiene, and early feeding.
- HCWs rated the MCP card highly for cognitive-motor development (100%) and bonding (98.6%), but less so for language stimulation (81.9%).
Conclusions:
- The MCP card is an effective tool for enhancing maternal knowledge in key NC-ECD areas.
- Gaps identified in language stimulation and healthcare referrals suggest areas for improvement.
- Optimizing the MCP card's impact requires structured training and potentially digital educational tools.
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