Hospitals urged to establish 'Kangaroo Care' centre to save lives on preterm, low weight infants
Currently, 95% of low birth weight babies are from low- and middle-income countries, and around 70-80% of them die in the neonatal period
The government and other relevant stakeholders should establish Immediate Kangaroo Mother Cares, or "iKMCs, at hospitals in a bid to reduce the mortality rates of preterm and low-birth weight babies in the country, experts have said.
They made the observation during a discussion on the "Role of Special Care Newborn Unit in saving lives of preterm and low birth weight babies in Bangladesh" on the second day of the "4th International Scientific Conference" on Thursday (9 May) .
The two-day conference, organised by the Bangladesh Perinatal Society, was held on 8-9 May at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
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'Kangaroo Mother Care' is a method of caring for premature or low birth weight infants where the mother uses her own body temperature to keep her infant warm.
According to the World Health Organisation, a newborn weighing less than 2,500 grams at birth is considered "low birth weight", and the risk of death of such babies is four times higher than normal ones.
During the discussion, President of the Bangladesh Perinatal Society Prof Laila Arjumand Banu delivered the welcoming speech.
Programme Manager of the Directorate General of Health Services Dr Md Jahurul Islam highlighted the present scenario of Kangaroo Mother Care service and Special Care Newborn Units in Bangladesh.
In her speech, Sachio Yoshida, technical officer in the department of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health of the World Health Organisation, said, every year, 20 million children are born with low birth weight worldwide, of which 95% are from low- and middle-income countries, and around 70-80% of them die in the neonatal period.
She also highlighted the World Health Organisation's recommendations regarding Kangaroo Mother Care in saving lives of infants.
Secretary of Bangladesh Perinatal Society Prof Dr Abdul Mannan discussed the challenges in establishing Special Care Newborn Units in hospitals.
Later, an open discussion and question and answer session took place, under the direction of icddr,b scientist Dr Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman, which was attended by many renowned doctors from various health institutes in the country.
During the session, they recommended reducing unnecessary caesarean sections to ensure sustainable development.
They also proposed launching a pilot project aimed at restructuring the medical facilities that currently house Special Care Newborn Units.
Furthermore, they called for raising awareness among people regarding the role of Kangaroo Mother Care service in saving the lives of infants.
