About 50 per cent of babies delivered annually at the maternity unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) are preterm, Senior Specialist Paediatrician, Dr Kojo Ahor-Essel, has disclosed.
He said although preterm birth; where a baby is born too early before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is a usual occurrence, the hospital was seeing issues of preeclampsia, placental abruptions and other complications among pregnant women in recent times, contributing to the rise in preterm cases.
The Paediatrician thus advised expectant mothers to seek early antenatal care to help reduce risks of delivering preterm and improve chances of baby survival.
He was speaking in an interview with the Ghanaian Times at an event to mark this year's World Prematurity Day on the theme; 'Small actions, BIG IMPACT: Immediate skin-to-skin care for every baby everywhere.'
Organised by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital in collaboration with NICU Soldiers, an advocacy and support organisation for parents of preterm babies and Ghandour Cosmetics Limited, the celebration sought to support parents and guardians of preterm babies to navigate the journey.
As such, both organisations distributed packs of baby care and hygiene products to parents of babies in the NICU to commemorate the occasion.
Dr Ahor-Essel, stressing on the need for early antenatal care, said it was important to easily detect complications in pregnancy that could expose mothers to delivering preterm.
"Sometimes we don't know the cause but most times, preterm could be complications from pregnancy so we advise that we start antenatal care very early.
Even before that, every woman of reproductive age should start taking folic acids, eat balance diet and attend antenantal at least four times before labour so that in case there is a problem, doctors or midwives can detect early and ensure baby has chance of survival," he advised.
Touching on experiences at the NICU, the paediatrician advised against stigma and discrimination against babies and parents admitted at the unit.
He also encouraged mothers of preterm to take seriously "small actions" like skin-to-skin contact with their babies to establish bonding, good nutrition, hygiene and care which could impact on the survival and development of babies.
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Dr Ahor-Essel also appealed for increased resources and logistical support to the unit to effectively treat and care for preterm babies.
"Attending to premature babies is labor intensive and financially demanding, so we need lot of support like incubators, monitors among others. One key thing we wish for is a breast milk bank to help save the babies and prevent them from developing further complications and we hope authorities push that into reality soon."
The Founder and Executive Director of NICU Soldiers, Ms Efia Akese, encouraged parents of preterm babies not to be overwhelmed by the challenges at the NICU but stay hopeful.
She said their ability to stay strong through the experience could highly impact the chances of survival of their babies.
"Preterm babies are not cursed, they are not incomplete neither are they evil. We must stay strong for them and show them utmost love till they pull through the NICU," she urged.
The Brands Manager at Ghandour Cosmetics, Victoria Abaka, expressed happiness over the partnership with NICU Soldiers, which she said resonates with the company's vision and goals.
"We feel this is an important drive and initiative to be part of and we are happy to do so. We believe this is the beginning of a long term partnership with NICU Soldiers to put smiles on the faces of mothers and their babies," she noted.
World Prematurity Day is commemorated annually on November 17 to raise awareness of the heavy burden of death and disability, the psychological stress, and the pain and suffering that preterm birth causes to parents, families, communities and nations at large.
In Ghana, about 200,000 babies born annually are preterm and the condition is said to be the leading cause of neonatal deaths locally and worldwide.
