Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 31;25(1):438.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05776-5.

Practice and factors associated with neonatal sunlight exposure among mothers in Jigjiga City, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia

Amal Adem Abdulahi  1 , Mohamed Omar Osman  2 , Yahye Mohamed Ibrahim  3 , Ramadan Budul Yusuf  2 , Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim  2 , Seid Muhumed Abdilaahi  3 , Yusuf Hamud File  2 , Nour Ahmed Korane  2 , Ahmed Adem Abdullahi  4
Affiliations

Practice and factors associated with neonatal sunlight exposure among mothers in Jigjiga City, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia

Amal Adem Abdulahi et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Sunlight is a vital natural resource for sustaining life on Earth. Sunlight exposure, especially ultraviolet B, is necessary for synthesizing vitamin D in the skin. Early life is the most prevalent time for vitamin D deficiency, and almost half of mothers in Ethiopia are estimated to have a low level of good practice of sunlight exposure, which remains a major contributing factor to vitamin D deficiency in Ethiopian children.

Objectives: To assess the practices and factors associated with neonatal sunlight exposure among mothers in Jigjiga City, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia, 2024.

Methods and materials: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 mothers in Jigjiga city from April 16 to 30, 2024. The study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. The data were collected using electronic data collection software (Kobo) and exported to SPSS software version 20 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression was performed. Finally, the adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence level was computed, and a p-value < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.

Results: Among the mothers interviewed, 29.4% with 95% CI (22.2–38.1) had good practice in exposing their neonates to sunlight. In multivariable analysis, mothers who were married (AOR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.03–0.92), who delivered through caesarian section (AOR = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01–0.54), who had poor knowledge of sunlight exposure (AOR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.1–0.96) and who had no fear of sunlight exposure (AOR = 3.06; 95% CI: 1.02–9.17) were significantly associated with good practices of neonatal sunlight exposure.

Conclusions: This study revealed that 29.4% of mothers had good neonatal sunlight exposure practice which is low compared to other studies. The mothers’ marital status, mode of delivery, mother’s knowledge, and fear of sunlight exposure were significantly associated with the practice level of the mothers.

Keywords: Eastern Ethiopia; Factors associated; Jigjiga; Neonates; Practice; Sunlight exposure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institute of Health Science, Jigjiga University Research Ethical Review Committee (IHRRC012/2024). Informed, voluntary, written and signed consent was obtained from the study participants, and the confidentiality of their responses was also ensured throughout the research process. In case of mother’s age was under 18, consent from parents (guardians) or husband was obtained. Consent for publication: Consent for publication was not obtained. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of mothers by their level of knowledge about sunlight exposure in Jigjiga city, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia, 2024
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of mothers by their practice level with respect to sunlight exposure in Jigjiga city, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia, 2024
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Lucas R, Prüss-Ustün A, Van Perkins E. Public Health and the Environment Geneva. 2010.
    1. Baggerly CA, Cuomo RE, French CB, Garland CF, Gorham ED, Grant WB, et al. Sunlight and vitamin D: necessary for public health. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 34. Routledge; 2015. pp. 359–65. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rik Roelandts. The history of phototherapy: something new under the sun? J Am Acad Dermatology. 2002;46(6):926–30. - PubMed
    1. Hoel DG, Berwick M, de Gruijl FR, Holick MF. The risks and benefits of sun exposure 2016. Dermatoendocrinol. 2016;8(1):e1248325. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Green RJ, Samy G, Miqdady MS, El-Hodhod M, Akinyinka OO, Saleh G, et al. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in Africa and the middle East, despite year-round sunny days. South African Medical Journal. Volume 105. South African Medical Association; 2015. pp. 603–5. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources