Impact of Antenatal Education on Essential Newborn Care Knowledge among Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial from Rural Bihar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47203/IJCH.2026.v38i03.012Keywords:
essential newborn care, antenatal education, maternal and child health, randomized controlled trial, rural biharAbstract
Background: Essential Newborn Care (ENC) encompasses key practices such as early and exclusive breastfeeding, thermal protection, hygienic cord care and recognition of danger signs. Despite improvements in institutional delivery coverage, gaps in maternal knowledge regarding ENC remain a major contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality in rural Bihar. This study assessed the effectiveness of structured antenatal education in improving ENC knowledge among pregnant women.
Methods: A single-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted among 132 pregnant women in their third trimester from a rural part of Bihar, India. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a control group. Baseline ENC knowledge was assessed using a pretested structured questionnaire. The intervention group received structured antenatal education using a flipchart-based module, while the control group received routine antenatal counselling only. Knowledge assessment was repeated two months postpartum. Data were analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics, including logistic regression to identify predictors of knowledge improvement.
Results: Baseline knowledge scores were comparable between the two groups. At follow-up, the intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement in overall ENC knowledge compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Women receiving antenatal education were nearly fourteen times more likely to demonstrate knowledge improvement (AOR=13.98; 95% CI: 5.56-25.15). Multivariate analysis revealed that antenatal education was the strongest predictor of knowledge improvement.
Conclusions: Structured antenatal education using flipcharts significantly improves maternal ENC knowledge. Incorporating such focused educational interventions into routine antenatal services can strengthen maternal preparedness and may improve newborn care practices in resource-limited settings.
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Data Availability Statement
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Sundhareshwaran Chandrasekaran (Corresponding Author); Dr. Dharmvir Ranjan Bharati, Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Dr. Nidhi Prasad, Dr. Naveen Hema Rajendran (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
