The event, which was held in a form of a march past from Arch 22 to the hospital ground, seeks to raise awareness about prematurity. The theme for this year’s event was - ‘Kangaroo Mother Care: Small things, Big Impact’.
Prematurity, officials say, accounts for high burden of under-five morbidity and mortality causing about a million deaths globally every year.
Dr. Abdou Gai, one of the medical doctors at the Pediatric Department of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, said the day is observed in view of the fact that when premature babies are born, they need a lot of help.
“Sometimes, people when they have premature deliveries, they think the baby will not survive. So, we are here to sensitize the public that these babies have a chance to survive with the help of the mothers and provided they come at the hospital early. We can do something to help these babies survive.”
He made reference to some mothers, who joined the commemorations marking the day, recalling that some of those babies when they were born, they were less one kilo. “Now some are three years and are going to school.”
Dr. Gai dwelled on some of the risk factors associated with premature deliveries, citing that it sometimes the mother’s womb especially when the latter is not strong enough to hold the baby.
He noted that sometimes it is the result of the mother having some medical condition such as heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes and even sometimes infections.
He thus called on mothers to report to health facilities early especially when they are pregnant, with the help of the midwifes and doctors they can receive antenatal care to prevent prematurity from happening.
Quizzed as to what it means a baby born premature, Dr. Gai explained that a baby born with prematurity condition, simply means the organs are not mature.
‘Every organ in the human body has its own functions. If the organ is not mature and not be able to perform it functions, then there is problem. For example, if the skin is not mature, it is then expose to infections, which will penetrate the skin and cause a lot of different infections. So, the baby will not be able to keep itself warm, because it’s losing heat and water from the skin. So, all these problems combined will prevent this baby from surviving and then they can die from it.”
Dr. Gai, besides acknowledged the alarming surge related to prematurity in the country and called on all to embrace the ‘Kangaro mother’ care approach to help these babies survive.
Sira Barry, a mother, who earlier gave birth to a premature baby, thanked God for the guidance and wellbeing, recalling that her baby was born under premature conditions at ‘this very hospital.’
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