Empowering Families through Proper Newborn Umbilical Cord Care to Improve Neonatal Health
Abstract
This community service activity aimed to improve the knowledge and skills of families regarding newborn umbilical cord care at the Independent Midwifery Practice (PMB) Dame N. Silalahi, Tanjungbalai City in 2025. The program used a participatory educational approach through health counseling, demonstration, hands-on practice (return demonstration), and the distribution of educational leaflets. The participants consisted of 30 individuals, including postpartum mothers, third-trimester pregnant women, husbands, and family members involved in newborn care. Evaluation was conducted using pre-test and post-test questionnaires to assess knowledge, and observation checklists were used to evaluate participants’ skills. The results showed an increase in the mean knowledge score from 6.23 before the intervention to 8.87 after the intervention. The proportion of participants with good knowledge increased from 26.7% to 86.7%, and 90% of participants demonstrated competent skills in umbilical cord care. These findings indicate an improvement in family knowledge and skills following the health education intervention on newborn umbilical cord care. This activity contributes to improving family health literacy regarding essential newborn care and has the potential to support the prevention of umbilical cord infection at the household level. Family empowerment programs through health education are recommended to be continuously implemented in midwifery services as an effort to improve neonatal health outcomes.
Downloads
References
Amina, S., & Burki, F. U. (2025). Knowledge, attitudes and practices of mother regarding care of newborn umbilical cord. Pakistan Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, 5(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.54112/pjicm.v5i02.152
Amponsah-Kodua, A., et al. (2025). Family involvement in neonatal care and its impact on newborn health outcomes. Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 19(2), 115–123.
Amponsah-Kodua, G., et al. (2025). Family-based newborn care interventions and neonatal health outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Neonatal Nursing.
Anyakorah, P. E., et al. (2025). Sociocultural determinants of newborn cord care practices in low-resource settings: A systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
Ariani, D., Sari, M., & Putri, R. (2024). Maternal knowledge and cultural beliefs influencing umbilical cord care practices: A systematic review. International Journal of Public Health Science.
Atta, M., Xie, Y., & Qin, H. (2025). Assessing the knowledge, practices and the associated factors among postpartum mothers concerning neonatal umbilical cord care in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 29(6), 808–817. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-025-04103-9
Dorling, J. S., Roehr, C. C., Katheria, A. C., & Mitchell, E. J. (2025). Umbilical cord management in newborn resuscitation. Pediatric Research,. Pediatric Research, 97(5). https://doi.org/97(5),
Indonesia, M. of H. of the R. of. (2024). Guidelines for integrated maternal and newborn health services. Jakarta: MoH RI.
Islam, M. T., Akter, T., Faruk, M. O., Rani, R., Nipo, J. H., Mita, A. R., & Rizwan, A. A. M. (2025). Knowledge related to umbilical cord care among mothers of neonates attending outpatient departments in Sherpur district, Bangladesh. Open Journal of Medical Sciences, 5(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31586/ojms.2025.1262
Major, G. S., Unger, V., Nagy, R., Veres, D. S., Garami, M., Varga, P., & Gasparics, Á. (2025). Umbilical cord management in newborn resuscitation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatric Research, 97. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03496-7
Ningsih, R., Putra, A., & Wulandari, P. (2025). The effect of health education on mothers’ knowledge of umbilical cord care. Indonesian Journal of Midwifery Education, 13(1), 45–52.
Obeagu, E. I., & Obeagu, G. U. (2024). Maternal knowledge and newborn cord care practices: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 16(3), 88–97.
Obeagu, E. I., et al. (2024). Umbilical cord care practices and neonatal infection risks in developing countries. Journal of Clinical Neonatology.
Organization, W. H. (2024a). Newborn care guidelines: Essential newborn care and infection prevention. Geneva: WHO.
Organization, W. H. (2024b). Newborn care guidelines and infection prevention strategies. Geneva: WHO.
Pratiwi, N., Hidayat, T., & Susanti, E. (2024). Adult learning approaches in maternal health education: A practical review. . . Journal of Health Education and Promotion, 12(2), 101–108.
Wahyuni, F., Lubis, S., Faradina, D., & Husada, M. S. (2024). Promotive and preventive programs for health workers and mothers on newborn umbilical cord care to prevent infection during the neonatal period. Indonesian Journal of Community Engagement, 10(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22146/jpkm.94860
Zatke, L., Jumle, R. M., Taksande, A., & Raut, S. P. (2025). Chlorhexidine cord care in preventing omphalitis and neonatal mortality: Evidence update. Global Pediatric Health.
Zatke, S., Kumar, R., & Singh, P. (2025). Effectiveness of competency-based training in improving neonatal care practices among caregivers. . . Journal of Global Health Nursing, 10(1), 33–41.
.png)
.png){kind=logo}
.png)
.png)
