Effect of Early Essential Newborn Care and Breastfeeding on Reducing Perinatal Morbidity versus Routine Birth Care

Abstract

Objectives: To compare perinatal morbidity and breastfeeding practices between infants who received Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) during the first 90 minutes of life versus those who received routine care. Study Design and Setting: The study design is a comparative cohort study. The study was performed at the Department of Maternal Child Health (MCH), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad. Methods: The study involved 600 live singletons vaginally born infants conducted in a hospital setting. Infants were divided into one group receiving routine birth care and the other receiving EENC. The differences between the two groups in terms of health outcomes were analyzed employing Chi-square tests, t-tests, and logistic regression. Results: EENC significantly reduced the rate of hypothermia compared to the routine care group (p < 0.001). Exclusive breastfeeding at discharge was particularly higher in the EENC group (p < 0.001), as was breastfeeding within the first hour (p < 0.001). The mean length of hospital stay for the EENC group (p = 0.01) was also shorter. We performed Logistic regression analysis and found that EENC was independently associated with reduced odds of neonatal infection (p < 0.001), respiratory distress (p = 0.004), and jaundice requiring treatment (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Early Essential Newborn Care has a major impact on improving neonatal health outcomes with an increase in breastfeeding initiation, reduction in perinatal morbidity, and facilitated faster recovery from illnesses. EENC should be considered an important strategy for promoting newborn health in the hospital setting.