Umbilical Cord Care among Women 15-49 Years in Uganda; a National Cross Sectional Study

BackgroundGlobally, 203000 children die of neonatal sepsis annually. Neonatal Sepsis, partly caused by poor umbilical cord hygiene, is responsible for 18.2% of neonatal deaths in Uganda. While the national newborn care includes cord care practices, the extent of compliance with these recommendations in Uganda remains unclear. ObjectiveThis study aimed at estimating the prevalence of applying non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care, identify substances used, and assess factors associated with use of non-recommended substances. MethodsA secondary data analysis was conducted among 19835 women 15-49 years using data from the 2023 Uganda Situation Analysis of Newborn health. Women were included if they had a live birth within the past one year prior to the survey. Data on substances used for cord care, socio-demographic factors, maternal factors, and healthcare service utilization was abstracted using a pretested data abstraction tool. Modified Poisson models from generalized linear models family with log link function and clustered standard errors were used to determine factors associated with use of non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care, using Stata version 15. ResultsThe prevalence of using non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care was 14%. Some of the non-recommended substances used in this context included body ointments, body powder, ash and various types of oils. The analysis revealed that maternal age 15-19 (aPR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.5), religion; protestant (aPR=2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.2) and Muslim (aPR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.4-0.7), not attending postnatal care (aPR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7), were significantly associated with using non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care. ConclusionThe prevalence of applying non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care in Uganda was moderately high. Enhancing maternal education on proper cord care during postnatal care visits could reduce the use of non-recommended substances for umbilical cord care. Educating teenage mothers about recommendable cord care should be prioritized during postnatal care sessions.