Mothers' Knowledge and Attitudes towards her Children with Neonatal Jaundice: A Cross-Sectional Study

Neonatal jaundice is a serious condition that, if not treated properly and promptly, can lead to fatal complications; it is caused by an excess of bilirubin in the blood, a yellow material formed when red blood cells are broken down; proper management to avoid serious neurological complications is dependent on mothers' knowledge and beliefs about the condition. Neonatal jaundice is a main cause of hospitalization worldwide in the first week of life; it may result in morbidity and mortality if not properly managed. To assess mothers' knowledge and attitudes towards neonatal jaundice.

Using a structured questionnaire, a descriptive (cross-sectional) study to assess the knowledge and attitudes on neonatal jaundice among the 200 mothers in Telafer General Hospital was conducted with an interview schedule and convenient sampling technique. To determine the content validity of the study, (12) experts were selected to review the questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire is determined using the Cronbach's Alpha test.

The majority of the mothers (62.5%) have poor knowledge about neonatal jaundice, (30%) of them have moderate knowledge, and  (7.5%) of them have good knowledge. Also, this study show the majority of the mothers (69%) have poor attitudes about neonatal jaundice (25.5%) have moderate attitudes, and  (5.5%) of them have good attitudes.

The mothers had poor knowledge and attitudes about neonatal jaundice.