1 Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Public Health, Chuka University, Kenya.
2 Chuka University, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing & Public Health, Kenya.
3 Kirinyaga University, , Department of Nursing, School of Health sciences, Kenya.
* Corresponding Author
ORCID Details
Wesley Mayaka Godfray: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6065-3162
Lucy Gitonga: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8937-013X
Immaculate Nyaseba Marwa: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2696-9156
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2026, 21(02), 097–107
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2026.21.2.1965
Received on 25 September 2026; revised on 02 November 2026; accepted on 04 November 2026
Background: Essential newborn care (ENC) included immediate and thorough drying of the newborn, delayed cord clamping and clean cord care, early skin-to-skin contact, early and exclusive initiation of breastfeeding, eye care, thermal protection, administration of vitamin K, timely immunization, and prompt recognition of and response to neonatal danger signs.
Objective: Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and focused group discussions. This study found the following factors were statistically significantly associated with newborn care practices at the 5% level of significance: level of education (p = 0.034), parity (p = 0.027), place of delivery (p = 0.035), and receipt of healthcare breastfeeding training (p = 0.007). This study therefore has generated evidence-based results to inform the design of targeted interventions aimed at improving essential newborn care practice and, ultimately, reducing preventable neonatal morbidity and mortality within Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
Methods: The study was conducted at Nyeri County Referral Hospital, and a sample size of 126 postnatal mothers with neonates were included in the study determined by the Modified Fischer et al., 1998 formula. Maternal education, parity, place of delivery and receipt of breastfeeding training were associated with essential newborn care practice; given the cross-sectional design, these should be interpreted as correlates rather than causal predictors.
Results: Parity (AOR = 3.071, 95% CI: 0.507–18.599, p = 0.022), education (AOR = 0.077, 95% CI: 0.008–0.761, p = 0.028), place of delivery (AOR = 4.334, 95% CI: 0.768–24.437, p = 0.047) and healthcare training (AOR = 2.839, 95% CI: 0.944–8.537, p = 0.043) all indicated that they were independent predictors of essential newborn care practices.
Conclusion: Among the 126 postnatal mothers, 61.1% reported good practice, 38.9% reported bad practice and 42.7% reported all recommended practices.
Essential Newborn Care; Neonatal Care Practices; Breastfeeding; Thermoregulation; Cord Care; Postnatal Mothers
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Wesley Mayaka Godfray, Gitonga Lucy and Marwa Immaculate. PRACTICES OF ESSENTIAL NEONATAL CARE AMONG POSTNATAL MOTHERS ATTENDING NYERI COUNTY REFERRAL HOSPITAL, KENYA. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2026, 21(02), 097–107. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2026.21.2.1965.
