Introduction: Low birth weight and preterm birth are associated with high neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity. About 10- 12% of Indian babies are born preterm. Babies born before 3 weeks of gestation are called preterm infants. The birth of premature infants represents a crisis for most parents and may adversely affect the development of the parent- infant relationship. Objectives of the study: • To assess the pretest knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers of preterm babies regarding preterm care. • To evaluate the effectiveness of instructional package pretest and posttest on preterm care among the mothers of preterm babies. • To associate the knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers of preterm babies with selected demographic variables. Materials and methods: One group pretest and posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional package on “preterm care among mothers of preterm babies admitted in Neonatal intensive care, Govt. Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among 50 mothers of preterm babies regarding definition, causes, temperature regulation, nutritional requirements and infection control among the mothers of preterm babies and the collected data is analyzed by differential and inferential statistics. Conceptual framework used for this study was general system theory. Results: The pretest evolved that the mothers' knowledge on preterm care was inadequate knowledge (82%). After instructional package majority of the mothers knowledge on preterm care was improved to 90%. There was unfavorable attitude towards preterm care before instructional package. The moderately adequate health practices in relation to preterm care before instructional package was only 20%. It became 94% after the instructional package. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers were inadequate before instructional package. After instructional package the knowledge, attitude and practices were increased significantly.
