A study to assess knowledge on practice and attitude regarding newborn thermoregulation among caregiver at selected hospitals of Gangtok, Sikkim

Background: The infant is warm and well-insulated in the aqueous uterine environment prior to birth. After delivery, maintaining thermal stability becomes a key physiological challenge. Parental practices, especially by mothers, play a crucial role in newborn thermoregulation. This study aimed to assess caregivers' knowledge on practice and attitudes towards neonatal thermoregulation and explore any correlations between them. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive study was conducted among 93 caregivers admitted in the postnatal wards. Participants were selected using non-probability purposive sampling. Data were collected through face to face interviews using a structured knowledge questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20 with both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Among the participants, 82% had average knowledge, 14% had good knowledge, and 4% had poor knowledge regarding newborn thermoregulation. Occupation was significantly associated with knowledge on practice (ρ = 0.002), while no other variables showed significant associations. A moderate positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes was observed (r = 0.024, ρ = 0.817), but this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study revealed even though majority of caregiver had favourable attitude and average knowledge on newborn thermoregulation, newborn still presented with mild to moderate thermal fluctuations in newborns were still reported. The findings emphasize the need for improved prenatal education and reinforcement of health information packages to better prepare caregivers for newborn thermoregulation.