Table 2.

Newborn care practices included in the essential newborn care score for each study site

Hand washing	Birth attendant washed hands before delivery
Clean delivery kit	A clean delivery kit (CDK) was used during the delivery. A CDK usually contains a small bar of soap for washing hands, a plastic sheet to serve as the delivery surface, clean string for tying the umbilical cord, a new razor blade for cutting the cord, and pictorial instructions that illustrate the sequence of delivery events and hand-washing.
Clean instrument	The umbilical cord was cut with a sterilized instrument (new or boiled razor blade, surgical blade or scissors).
Appropriate cord care	After cutting the cord either dry cord care was practised or an antiseptic was applied to the stump.
Wrapped within 5 mins	The baby was wrapped in clean cloth within 5 mins after delivery or placed skin-to-skin on the breast of the mother.
Bathing after 6 h	Bathing of the baby was delayed until at least 6 h after the delivery
Breast feeding within 1 h	The mother initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery.
No prelacteal feeding	The baby was exclusively fed with breast milk during the first 24 h of life and not fed any other fluid or prelacteal food.
Postnatal care	The mother and her baby were seen for a postnatal check-up by a health care worker (doctor, nurse or nurse-midwife) 24 h after delivery