Background: Postnatal care plays a great role in the health of mothers and their neonates. This study aimed to evaluate the mothers’ perceptions of the provided postnatal care and the associated factors

 

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the health centers of Sirik city in Hormozgan province, Iran, were selected using convenience sampling. The study was conducted on ۱۶۰ mothers who had referred to the selected centers for postnatal care from ۷ August ۲۰۱۸ to ۲ August ۲۰۲۰ and had given birth to live full-term neonates (>۳۷ weeks of gestation) ۴۰ days to ۱۲ months before sampling. The Mothers’ Perceptions of the Quality of Postnatal care questionnaire was designed by the research team; it included ۱۸ questions about mothers’ perception of care. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software, version ۲۱.

 

Results: The mothers’ mean score of perception was ۶۹.۸۴±۱۶.۰۴; most mothers rated the provided postnatal care and their relationship with the personnel as good or excellent. The mean total scores of the mothers’ perceptions were not different based on their satisfaction with postnatal care (P=۰.۶۴۶) and time of the first referral after birth (P=۰.۲۵۱), but they were significantly different according to the number of referrals (P=۰.۰۲۳) and their satisfaction with the health personnel (P<۰.۰۰۱).

 

Conclusion: The study results revealed that mothers had a good perception about postnatal care provided by health center staff. Hence, it is necessary to educate all health staff in this regard to provide high-quality postnatal care to all mothers who refer to these centers.

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