This cross-sectional study was conducted to capture maternal, neonatal and child
health (MNCH) related knowledge and practices among the participants of Manoshi
program and to explore the association between exposure to different Behavior
Change Communication (BCC) approaches and changes in MNCH knowledge.
This study also explored the acceptability of BCC materials among urban slum
women, their families, and the community members as well as documented the
behavior change interventions currently being used by the Manoshi program. Both
quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to address the objectives of the
study. Three areas of Manoshi program were randomly selected for conducting the
quantitative component. The quantitative data were collected between November
2009 and May 2010. The qualitative data were collected between March 2010
and December 2010 through different qualitative methods including in-depth
interview, focus group discussion, semi-structured interview, and observations of
BCC events.
A total of 360 currently married women were interviewed in the quantitative survey
and 99% of them were Muslim. The highest proportions (41%) of respondents
were in the 21-25 years age group, and 63% of the respondents had completed
primary education (grade 5). About 89% were homemakers by occupation and
the mean number of members in the family was 4.8. Fifty percent of families
reported monthly income of around 7300 taka (approximately US$100 in 2011).
About 99% of respondents had knowledge about the requirement of antenatal care
(ANC) and 45% of the respondents mentioned that 4 or more ANC are required
during pregnancy. Study participants had some knowledge of danger signs during
pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal period; they mentioned severe headache (59%),
high fever (50%), convulsion (48%), excessive bleeding (47%), prolapse (52%),
and prolonged labor (33%). Home was cited as desired place of delivery by 25%
of respondents and 71% mentioned they would go to a government facility in
the case of any complication during childbirth. Over 50% were aware of drying
the baby after delivery and feeding colostrums. In addition, respondents reported
knowledge on newborn care practices e.g., bathing the newborn at least 7 days after
birth (8%), colostrums as newborn’s first feeding (75%), initiation of breastfeeding
within one hour (78%), and duration of exclusive breast feeding (87%).