Use of a Foot Length Card to Improve Careseeking Practices of Vulnerable Newborns in Sarlahi District, Nepal
Use of a Foot Length Card to Improve Careseeking Practices of Vulnerable Newborns in Sarlahi District, Nepal
This study will evaluate whether or not provision of a simple card ("footlength card") that
 allows identification of low birth weight and/or preterm babies through measurement of the
 length of a baby's foot, can improve basic newborn care behaviors in rural Nepal.
This study will evaluate a recently developed, simple, low-cost tool that can help recently
 delivered women and their family members identify whether or not their newborn baby needs
 extra care/attention. Some prior studies of the relationship between anthropometric measures
 (such as chest-circumference, footlength, head circumference, etc) and preterm birth or low
 birth weight, have shown that these measures can be used to identify high-risk/vulnerable
 babies. One such measure, foot length, has been shown to be a reasonable tool, and one that
 can be simply performed by mothers, without disturbing the newborn infant. With this in mind,
 Save The Children has developed a low cost card with an image of a baby's foot on one side,
 along with a toll-free number and some key messages on how to use the card. Specifically,
 pregnant women can be given this card during an antenatal contact, along with some basic
 instructions on its use. Then, after their baby is born, the newly delivered woman, other
 family member, or low-level facility provider can compare the length of the baby's foot to
 the image on the card, by lining the baby's foot up with the card. If the baby's foot is
 shorter than the image on the card, a toll-free number (provided on the card itself) can be
 used to access a set of standardized messages about how to take care of the baby.

 In this proposed study, Save the Children, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), and the JHU-led
 Nepal Nutrition Intervention Project - Sarlahi (NNIPS) will give this card to women currently
 enrolled in the Nepal Oil Massage Study (NCT01177111), explain its use, follow up with the
 woman after delivery to determine if she used the card, and query her about her experience
 using the card, calling the toll-free number, and recalling the messages given. Additionally,
 one of the NNIPS staff workers will use the same card to measure the baby's foot. Ultimately,
 the study will summarize women's experience using this card, and provide guidance to Save the
 Children, the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), and other stakeholders regarding
 future programmatic scale up of the use of this card.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Woman is pregnant

 -  Woman is enrolled in ongoing newborn oil massage study

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Not pregnant

 -  Not enrolled in ongoing newborn oil massage study