Asking Mother About the Child's Problems

Some simple techniques will help you to be more effective when you see the mother and her sick child.

Greet the mother appropriately without hurrying and ask her to sit with her child.

Try to:

• avoid using words that suggest judgment of the mother and baby such as "wrong" or "bad"
• sit so that your head is level with the mother's head
• look at the mother and pay attention as she speaks
• remove barriers (table or notes) between you and the mother
• make the mother feel that you have time to listen to her 

Look to see if the child's weight and temperature have been recorded. If not, wait until later when you assess and classify the child's main symptoms. Then weigh the child and measure the child's temperature. Do not undress or disturb the child at this stage. Ask the mother what the child's problems are. An important reason for asking this question is to start communicating well with the mother. Good communication helps to reassure the mother that her child will receive good care. Later in the visit, you will need to teach and advise the mother about caring for her child at home. It will be easier for you to do so if you have good communication with the mother from the beginning of the visit.

Find out if this is an initial or follow-up visit for the problem.

• If this is the initial visit for a particular episode of a childhood illness or problem, then you will need to use the IMCI case-management procedure to assess and classify the child.
• If the child was seen a few days ago for the same illness, this is a follow-up visit. The purpose of a follow-up visit, is to find out if the treatment given during the initial visit has helped the child. If the child is not improving or is getting worse after a few days, you will need to refer the child to a hospital or change the child's treatment.

Use good communication skills

• Listen carefully to what the mother tells you. This will show her that you are taking her concerns seriously.
• Use words the mother understands. If she does not understand the questions you ask her, she cannot give the information you need to assess and classify the childhood illnesses correctly.
• Give the mother time to answer the questions. For example, she may need time to decide if the sign you asked about is present.
• Ask additional questions when the mother is not sure about her answer. When you ask about a main symptom or related sign, the mother may not be sure if it is present. Ask her additional questions to help her give clearer answers.