Maternal Knowledge of Neonatal Warning Signs: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The neonatal period is a vulnerable stage of infancy.Early recognition of warning signs is essential to prevent potentially fatal outcomes.Maternal knowledge of these signs is an important marker of health literacy and can guide interventions to improve neonatal care.Objective: To evaluate maternal knowledge of neonatal warning signs and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge levels.Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study at a level II hospital.Mothers of newborns hospitalized in the nursery completed an electronic questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge of neonatal warning signs.Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed.Results: A total of 150 mothers participated.Maternal age ranged 18 -42 years, with 57.3% Portuguese and 42.7% of other nationalities.Most mothers were employed (78%) and 38.7% had prior experience with children or healthcare.Knowledge scores ranged from 1 to 17 (mean ± SD: 9.89 ± 3.24), with 66% correctly identifying more than half of the warning signs.Commonly recognized signs included fever (>38ºC), bloody stools, central cyanosis, and periumbilical infection signs (>75%).Less recognized signs included moaning and reduced urine output (<25%).No statistically significant associations were found between knowledge scores and maternal age, education, employment status, parity, nationality, or prior experience with children/healthcare.Conclusion: Maternal knowledge of neonatal warning signs is variable, with a good recognition of obvious signs but limited awareness of subtle indicators of serious illness.Health literacy interventions are essential to improve parental recognition of warning signs, promote timely healthcare seeking, and prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality.