Reported Self-Care Practice towards Prevention of Puerperal Sepsis and Associated Factors among Postnatal Mothers In Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract Background: Puerperal sepsis is an important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries including Ethiopia. If not identified early and preventive measures are not taken, it can lead to severe lifetime maternal morbidity and even death. So, to prevent maternal complications associated with puerperal sepsis, assessing the postnatal mother's self-care practice is vital. Therefore, this study aimed to assess reported self-care practices towards the prevention of puerperal sepsis and associated factors among postnatal mothers in Arba Minch town, southwest Ethiopia, 2022. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was employed from may1-30th, 2022. A structured and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from study participants. Study participants were randomly selected and interviewed at their homes using simple random sampling techniques. The data was collected by Open Data Kit (ODK) and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 for analysis and the information was presented using frequencies, summary measures, tables, and figures. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors. Pvalues < 0.05 with a 95% confidence level were used to declare statistical significance. Results; A total of 417 postnatal mothers participated in this study making a response rate of 98.5%. The study revealed that 45.6% with (95%, CI (41.2% - 50.1%) of postnatal mothers had good self-care practice towards the prevention of puerperal sepsis, whereas the rest had poor self-care practice. Tertiary educational level (AOR = 2.56(1.43-4.59), multiparity (AOR = .44(.26-.74) and having a good awareness of puerperal sepsis prevention (AOR = 2.17(1.40-3.37) were factors identified to have a significant statistical association with good self-care practice towards prevention of puerperal sepsis. Conclusion; this study revealed that less than half of postnatal mothers had good self-care practices for the prevention of puerperal sepsis. Healthcare providers and all stakeholders should focus on strategies to improve awareness of postnatal mothers about self-care practice in antenatal care clinics, during postnatal, at a community level with a special focus on postnatal mothers with no formal education and multiparous mothers.