Objectives: To evaluate impact of postnatal health education for mothers on infant care and postnatal family planning practices in Nepal.
Design: Randomised controlled trial with community follow up at 3 and 6 months post partum by interview. Initial household survey of study areas to identify all pregnant women to facilitate follow up.
Setting: Main maternity hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Follow up in urban Kathmandu and a periurban area southwest of the city.
Subjects: 540 mothers randomly allocated to one of four groups: health education immediately after birth and three months later (group A), at birth only (group B), at three months only (group C), or none (group D).
Interventions: Structured baseline household questionnaire; 20 minute, one to one health education at birth and three months later.
Main outcome measures: Duration of exclusive breast feeding, appropriate immunisation of infant, knowledge of oral rehydration solution and need to continue breast feeding in diarrhoea, knowledge of infant signs suggesting pneumonia, uptake of postnatal family planning.
Results: Mothers in groups A and B (received health education at birth) were slightly more likely to use contraception at six months after birth compared with mothers in groups C and D (no health education at birth) (odds ratio 1.62, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.5). There were no other significant differences between groups with regards to infant feeding, infant care, or immunisation.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the recommended practice of individual health education for postnatal mothers in poor communities has no impact on infant feeding, care, or immunisation, although uptake of family planning may be slightly enhanced.