الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Since the infant forms a major proportion of the popu lation, particularly in the less developed areas, the health progress of a country can be gauged by the proportion of , infant deaths. The higher the proportion of infant deaths the ~ss developed the country would be. Poor hygiene, poverty ~d lack of education do not produce any special tropical diseases, they just lead to diseases seen all over the deve loping countries and specially rural areas, only in more commonly and in more severe forms. The situation is made rore difficult by insufficient trained staff, hospitals and health centers, and lack of money both for drugs and for pre services. tConcentration of care during the first week can contribute to the great improvement of infant’s health condition and great importance in the prevention of ro~idity and mortality. To achieve these objectives, nurses and mothers should be equiped with adequate knowledge, skills / and competences regarding neonatal care to give efficient care to this particular time. This study was carried out to study the knowledge and practices of pregnant women, recent delivered . and nurses regarding neonatal care during the first infant’s life in an urban area as Moharem bay and in a rural area as Abbis village. This study was conducted at Moharem bay MCH center re ~esenting the urban field of study and Abbis health center representing the rural field of study. A total of 100 pregnant lIomen seeking antenatal care were included in this study, 50 pregnant women from each cent er . Fifty women recently normally delivered from each cent er were visited at their homes by the candidate. All nurses who were responsible for giving or ru~nising neonatal care in both centers at this time were included in this study they were two nurses in Abbis health center and eight nurses in Moharem bay MCH center. Three sche duled. interview sheets was used to collect the necessary ~ta and it included their knowledge and practices of neonatal care during the first week of life, the women’s residency, age and educational level and the nurses’ years of experience and residency. The results revealed that, mother’s education, age and residency has a positive effect on the hygienic practices and at the same time reflect the socio cultural view of infant’s care, the deficiency of their knowledge especially among the illiterate and young age women. Also nurses lacked the essent ial knowledge about infant’s care at the first week of his life and their years of experience has a positive effect on their pract ices 0 f care. In order to this bad situation and to improve the quality and quantity of infant I s care the proposed recommendations are suggested, a comprehensive health education program especially in semi urban & semi rural for all potential parents, pregnant a women, recent delivered mothers must be designed to meet all the infant I s needs-infant I s care should be followed up at home by a qualified and trained public health nurses to be able to deal with and teach mothers with different sociocultural back grounds. Fin