Educational intervention for mothers of neonates in the early recognition of pathological hyperbilirubinemia

Abstract

Pathological hyperbilirubinemia, also known as neonatal jaundice, is one of the most common pathologies in the newborn that presents as yellow pigmentation at the level of the skin and mucous membranes reflecting a temporary alteration between the elimination and production of bilirubin. An educational intervention was carried out for mothers of neonates in the early recognition of pathological hyperbilirubinemia. The research is quantitative, explanatory, quasi-experimental before-and-after, designed to access the mothers' level of knowledge about the early recognition of pathological hyperbilirubinemia. The population consisted of postpartum women hospitalized in the maternity and neonatology services of a general hospital, who were tested before and after the educational intervention. The data obtained in the pre-test indicated that knowledge was scarce in relation to the pathology, after the educational intervention it was evidenced that the mothers showed a basic knowledge for an early recognition of hyperbilirubinemia. The importance of an educational intervention on pathological hyperbilirubinemia lies in mothers being able to easily identify and recognize the clinical manifestations of hyperbilirubinemia. It is important to highlight that through timely and appropriate educational intervention, it is possible to understand the strategies for prevention and treatment of the disease, avoiding future complications. The educational intervention is useful for the acquisition of knowledge related to a particular topic, in this case, the mothers demonstrated basic knowledge related to pathological hyperbilirubinemia.