Care seeking behaviour of mothers during illness of newborn in urban slums of Lucknow City

Objectives: To study the knowledge of mothers about recognition of danger signs and care seeking behaviour during illness of newborn child in urban slums of Lucknow city, UP. Methods : Across' sectional study in Urban slums of Lucknow city, UP included 524 women who had a live birth during last one year preceding data collection. The data was tabulated on Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using the software SPSS 10.0 for Windows. Results: Study findings showed that Majority (76.9%) of the mothers said that if the baby was very cold to touch or running temperature is a danger sign during newborn period followed by absence of sucking (68.9%) in previously sucking newborn as danger sign. Majority (71.9%) of the mothers consulted local doctor for any problem during neonatal period. Only 12 percent of the mothers approached Govt. doctor for the treatment. It was observed that Hing was given by 86.2 percent mothers in case of stomachache. 82.8 percent mothers had given salt and sugar solutions in the case of diarrhoea. Conclusion: In majority of cases correct knowledge and care seeking behaviour during illness of newborn were lacking among mothers and this should be promoted through improved coverage with existing health services.