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. 2017 Dec 13;17(1):418.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-017-1612-1.

Factors associated with postnatal care for newborns in Zambia: analysis of the 2013-14 Zambia demographic and health survey

Bupe B Bwalya  1 , Mulenga C Mulenga  2 , James N Mulenga  2
Affiliations

Factors associated with postnatal care for newborns in Zambia: analysis of the 2013-14 Zambia demographic and health survey

Bupe B Bwalya et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: The importance of postnatal care cannot be overemphasised. Various studies undertaken worldwide have found that PNC is critical for the survival of newborns. However, in Zambia, despite much emphasis by the government and various international Organisations on the need for PNC, coverage continues to be low. This study attempted to assess the demographic and socio-economic factors associated with newborns' receipt of PNC and the timing of first PNC in Zambia.

Methods: Based on data from the 2013-14 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), this study used bivariate, stepwise binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses to examine PNC for births at home and at health facilities.

Results: The results indicate that different factors influence the utilisation of PNC among home births, these include: place of delivery, mothers' exposure or access to media and having 4+ ANC visits. On the other hand, place of residence and mothers' access or exposure to media were found to be the determinants of PNC among facility deliveries. The results further indicate that among the home births, mothers' media exposure or access to media, having secondary or higher education, and having 4+ ANC visits during pregnancy increased the odds of having PNC within 48 hours. Furthermore, attending the first PNC 48 hours after delivery was determined by place of residence, media exposure and 4+ ANC visits. On the other hand, among the facility births, the timing of PNC within 48 hours, was influenced by the perceived size at birth of the newborn.

Conclusion: The study makes the following recommendations: more attention to be given to rural based women and newborns; encourage delivery at health facilities; more emphasis on the importance of ANC visits; and need to disseminate information through various media on the importance of PNC even in rural communities.

Keywords: Demographic and socio-economic factors; Facility births; Home births; Newborn; Postnatal care; Timing of first postnatal check-up; Zambia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interest

The authors declare that we have no competing interest.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Although this data included human beings, this data analysis was secondary and permission was granted to us by DHS program for us to use the ZDHS dataset in particular the women’s (ZMIR61FL) stata data file. In addition, no potentially identifying information is part of this dataset

Consent for publication

No images, individual details or videos for clients’ data are part of this paper.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual Framework
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of newborns who received any postnatal care, by place of delivery
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percent distribution of newborns by timing of the first postnatal check-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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