Nepal Clean Home Delivery Kit: Evaluation of the Health Impact - Path

Table 6 shows other birth practices possibly related to infection, such as substances put
on the cord immediately after cutting or later, the covering put on the cord, and whether
and when the attendant washes her hands. Most attendants put nothing on the cord (67%-
76%). When they did use something, trained attendants were more likely to use Dettol (a
common antiseptic) while untrained attendants were more likely to use ash. Mustard oil
was the most commonly applied substance later (55%-66%), followed by “nothing”
(26%-38%). Kit non-users with trained attendants were the most likely to use herbal
preparations later (11% vs. 2-4%). Among kit users, babies delivered by untrained
attendants were the most likely to have dirty cloths on the cord stump at the time of the
interview (53%), while those with trained attendants were the least likely (42%). Babies
delivered by trained and untrained kit non-users were equally likely to have a dirty cloth
on the cord stump (47%). Among trained attendants slightly more kit users washed their
hands before cutting the cord (96% vs. 90%), but among untrained attendants many more
kit users than non-users washed their hands
(91% vs. 76%; p< .001). Untrained attendants in both user and non-user cohorts were
more likely than trained attendants to wash their hands only after cutting the cord.
Table 6. Birth practices possibly related to infection, by cohort
Kit User, Kit User, Kit Non-user, Kit Non-user,
Trained Untrained Trained Untrained
(Col %) (Col %) (Col %) (Col %)
Put on cord Nothing 67.1 75.9 68.8 72.6
just after Ash 5.7 12.1 9.9 14.2
Dettol 11.2 6.5 9.9 1.8
Mustard oil 1.9 2.5 3.5 5.0
Antibiotic 2.1 0.5 2.0 0.5
Herbal 2.1 1.0 0.5 3.4
Other 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.9
Don’t know 9.0 1.0 4.7 1.6
Put on cord later Nothing 32.1 26.4 29.0 37.9
Mustard oil 57.6 66.2 56.2 55.3
Herbal 4.3 3.0 10.9 1.8
Antibiotic 3.8 2.5 3.0 1.4
Don’t know 0.5 0 0.2 0.2
Other 1.7 1.8 0.7 3.4
Cord covering Clean 56.3 45.7 48.7 49.0
No cloth 1.5 1.8 4.3 3.8
Dirty cloth 42.3 52.5 47.0 47.1
Wash hands
- at all Yes 98.3 90.6 95.4 75.9
-before cord cut Yes 95.8 73.5 89.8 64.9
-only after cord cut Yes 2.4 16.1 5.0 9.4
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Nepal Delivery Kit Evaluation May 2000