The objective of a recent study published in The Lancet was to describe the care received byneonates up to two hours after birth in a sample of three countries in west Africa.

This was a multi-country, facility-based, observational study, that entailed data collection from 15 neonatal care practices across nine facilities in Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria. Women 15 years of age or older were eligible if they were admitted to the participating health facilities for childbirth—in early established labor or active labor and provided written informed consent on behalf of themselves and their neonate. 

The findings revealed that delayed cord clamping was done for most neonates, while other practices, such as skin-to-skin contact were less common. During the first 2 hours after birth, separation of the mother and neonate occurred in 51•9% of the cases, and was more common for mothers who were single. Lack of maternal education was associated with increased chances of neonates not receiving recommended breastfeeding practices. Whereas, neonates with a low birthweight (<2•5 kg) were more likely to not begin breastfeeding than full weight neonates. On the other hand, women who experienced physical abuse within 1 h before childbirth, their neonates were more likely to be slapped.

It was inferred that a high proportion of neonates did not receive recommended care practices, and some received practices amounting to mistreatment. It was stated that further research is needed on understanding and measuring mistreatment to improve care, to impart respectful care, for mothers and neonates.

Source: The Lancet. 2020; 9:E72-E80. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30422-8