COMPARING THE INCIDENCE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL JAUNDICE AMONG THE NEONATES IN FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTER, UMUAHIA.

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to compare the incidence of physiological and pathological jaundice among the neonates in Federal Medical Center, Umuahia. The objectives of the study were, explaining the incidence of physiological and pathological jaundice, ascertaining the number of children that have the two diseases and evaluating the risk factors of the two diseases. A cross sectional descriptive study was used and simple random sampling and convenience technique was used to get the sample size of 100 participants. A self-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was systematically analyzed using frequency distribution and percentage tables. From the analyzed data: 58 (58%) of the respondents had their babies pre term, 52 (52%) of the babies have been jaundiced before, 58 (58%) did not notice that their babies were jaundiced, 48(48%) of their babies were males, 60 (60%) of them had 1-3 of their children jaundiced, 55 (55%) of the babies had jaundice at ages 0-3 months, 65 (65%) of the respondents attend sometimes, 40 (40%) of the respondents eat carbohydrates frequently, 55 (55%) of the respondents agreed that prolonged labor can cause Neonatal jaundice, 58( 58%) of the respondents are not sure if it can reduce its incidence, 69 (69%) of the respondents agreed that proper antenatal education and care can prevent it, 75 (75%) of the respondents agreed that it can prevent it. The conclusion was that the participants had knowledge but not adequate knowledge of neonatal jaundice, more awareness should be created for early detection and diagnosis of this condition to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity. Keyword: Neonates, Incidence, Physiological and pathological jaundice.