Abstract

Background: Though skin-to-skin care (SSC) is becoming an important newborn care package at both facility and community levels in Ethiopia, there is a lack of evidence to monitor the progress at each level. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the proportion of SSC at both national and regional levels and identify factors that affect SSC uptake in Ethiopia.

Method: We used the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey data. The survey employed a multistage cluster sampling method. We included 7,488 live births in the analysis. The factors influencing SSC practice were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model. We reported adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: In Ethiopia, 24.3% of mothers practiced SSC for their newborns (95% CI=23.3, 25.2). The highest proportion was in Addis Ababa (63%) and the lowest was in Somali region (14.5%). Attending 1-4 antenatal care (ANC) (AOR = 1.51, 95% CI = [1.08, 2.12], giving birth at health facility (AOR = 4.51, 95% CI = [2.16, 9.44] and having female births (AOR = 1.24, 95% CI = [1.01, 1.54]) were associated with more odds of practicing SSC. However, giving birth by cesarean section had resulted in lower odds of practicing SSC (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI = [0.22, 0.63]). Regions with reduced odds of SSC practice include Amhara (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI = [0.40, 0.82]), Somali (AOR=0.51, 95%CI = [0.31, 0.83]), and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People (AOR = 0.64, 95%CI = [0.43, 0.94]).

Conclusions: The SSC practice was low in Ethiopia with a high level of variation between regions. In Ethiopia, maternal health services uptake affects the SSC of the newborns. Well-tailored community-level interventions are needed to increase skin-to-skin care practice among home delivery mothers.