Background of the Study: New-born baby is very vulnerable to infection, immune mechanisms are immature & the skin is thin & easily damaged.
Neonatal jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of skin & mucosa is caused by accumulation of excess bilirubin. New-borns are more prone for neonatal jaundice because of several physiological & pathological changes occur after child birth. Incidence of neonatal jaundice is seen within first 3 days of birth in 80% of preterm babies & 60% of full term babies. Incidence vary with ethnicity & geography Objectives: The main objective of the study was 1. To assess the knowledge of postnatal mother regarding neonatal jaundice. 2. To analyse the relationship between the knowledge of postnatal mothers regarding neonatal jaundice with selected demographic variables. Materials and methods: Descriptive design was adopted. The study was conducted at Gandhi
Hospital, Secunderabad, Telangana. Purposive or judgmental sampling technique was used to select the samples. The tool designed to collect
the data were socio demographic performa and structured questionnaire. The method used to collect data was structured questionnaire. Results: Collected data was analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study were that most of the postnatal mothers (74%) had average knowledge, while the remaining (13%) had below average knowledge & (13%) above average
knowledge. There was a significant relationship between knowledge of postnatal mothers, religion, type of family, duration of marriage, family income, source of information & number of previous pregnancies. There was no significant relationship between knowledge of postnatal mothers regarding neonatal jaundice with age & education. Conclusion: Although awareness of neonatal jaundice was seen in the majority of the mothers there was a paucity of knowledge regarding causes, danger signs and
effective treatment available Cultural beliefs and traditional infant care practices need to have a significant impact on mothers. Special educational programs and involvement of electronic media are needed to increase the awareness of mothers regarding neonatal jaundice. The danger signs recognized by mothers in early period for neonatal jaundice helps health care providers to plan quality care for neonates and neonatal mortality can be prevented by early detection and need to educate family members not to do rush for discharge policy immediately after delivery of mothers.

Keywords: Neonatal jaundice; Postnatal mothers