Nepal

eported that it is routine practice to keep newborns warm by drying and wrapping them. Over 90 percent of
facilities also reported that they put the baby skin-to-skin on the mother’s abdomen soon after delivery, that
they support kangaroo mother care, and that they routinely conduct a head to toe examination of the baby
before discharge. Just under two-thirds (64 percent) of facilities routinely apply chlorhexidine to the
umbilical cord stump.
Forty-two percent of facilities reported that they suction the newborn with a suction bulb. However,
a similar percentage of facilities (43 percent) reported that they routinely suction the newborn with a catheter,
a practice that may cause injury.
Other beneficial practices are not very common. Only around 1 in 10 facilities reported that they
apply tetracycline eye ointment to both eyes, administer vitamin K, or give a BCG vaccination before
discharge from the facility.
Table 7.7.1 Newborn care practices
Among facilities offering normal vaginal delivery services, the percentages reporting that the indicated practice is a routine component of newborn
care, by type of facility, Nepal Health Facility Survey 2015
Newborn care practices
Zonal and
above hospitals
District-level
hospitals
Facility type
Private
hospitals PHCCs HPs
National
average
Delivery to the abdomen (skin-to-skin) 90.9 86.8 84.4 94.5 91.2 90.7
Drying and wrapping newborns to keep warm 100.0 100.0 97.0 100.0 96.9 97.3
Kangaroo mother care 90.6 96.1 81.6 95.5 92.0 91.4
Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour 95.5 100.0 96.9 100.0 99.0 98.9
Routine complete (head-to-toe) examination of
newborns before discharge 95.5 100.0 94.0 99.5 93.5 94.3
Applying chlorhexidine to umbilical cord stump 63.4 72.4 25.4 72.3 66.9 63.6
Suctioning the newborn with catheter 81.5 75.0 76.7 59.0 35.3 43.4
Suctioning the newborn with suction bulb 54.4 46.1 40.5 46.5 40.9 41.6
Weighing the newborn immediately upon
delivery 100.0 100.0 95.3 99.5 94.9 95.5
Administration of vitamin K to newborn 41.1 14.5 70.4 4.5 2.1 9.8
Applying tetracycline eye ointment to both eyes 9.1 17.1 2.9 12.6 14.2 12.9
Giving the newborn BCG prior to discharge 50.2 26.3 22.0 11.1 9.3 11.8
Number of facilities offering normal vaginal
delivery services 5 16 45 41 351 457
Table 7.7.2 Newborn care practices
Among facilities offering normal vaginal delivery services, the percentages reporting that the indicated practice is a routine component of newborn
care, by background characteristics, Nepal Health Facility Survey 2015
Managing authority Ecological region Earthquakeaffected
Newborn care practices Public Private Mountain Hill Terai districts (14)
National
average
Delivery to the abdomen (skin-to-skin) 91.3 84.4 85.2 93.2 87.7 93.5 90.7
Drying and wrapping newborns to keep
warm 97.4 97.0 98.2 96.5 99.0 100.0 97.3
Kangaroo mother care 92.5 81.6 91.2 90.6 93.5 83.0 91.4
Initiation of breastfeeding within the first
hour 99.1 96.9 98.2 99.0 99.0 99.7 98.9
Routine complete (head-to-toe)
examination of newborns before
discharge 94.4 94.0 91.6 94.2 96.3 98.1 94.3
Applying chlorhexidine to umbilical cord
stump 67.7 25.4 62.0 61.7 69.0 60.6 63.6
Suctioning the newborn with catheter 39.8 76.7 33.0 36.7 66.0 51.4 43.4
Suctioning the newborn with suction bulb 41.7 40.5 35.9 38.3 52.9 37.8 41.6
Weighing the newborn immediately upon
delivery 95.6 95.3 97.2 94.7 96.6 100.0 95.5
Administration of vitamin K to newborn 3.3 70.4 10.1 6.8 17.2 16.6 9.8
Applying tetracycline eye ointment to both
eyes 14.0 2.9 17.1 14.4 6.9 21.2 12.9
Giving the newborn BCG prior to
discharge 10.7 22.0 6.2 11.6 15.9 22.0 11.8
Number of facilities offering normal vaginal
delivery services 413 45 67 276 114 79 457
160• Delivery and Newborn Care