Author: Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee/Freelance Journalist
The Princess Marie Louise Children Hospital has received two Phototherapy Units and one infant incubator to help address neonatal health challenges in Ghana.
The donation was made possible by the joint efforts of IPMC Ghana, MEDICOR, the Embassy of Hungary in Accra, and JA Health Hub, under the auspices of the Ga Mantse, His Royal Majesty King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.
The objection of the donation is to improve infant health care across all regions in Ghana, and especially in areas where neonatal challenges are highly reported.
This came to light during a “Neonatal Health Challenges; the Role of Society” event held in Accra recently.
Stakeholders at the function emphasized that there is an urgent need to put the necessary structures and interventions in place to enhance the health of newborns in order to reduce and possibly mitigate the morbidity and mortality rate associated with neonatal challenges in Ghana.
To achieve that objective, there was the need for a collective collaboration across all sectors and society in general.
Presenting the causes and prevention of neonatal challenges in newborns, Dr. Maame Yaa Nyarko of the Princess Marie Louise Hospital, said neonatal challenges are preventable if right steps are taken.
She described neonatal jaundice as the yellowish discoloration of the skin, sclera, and mucous membranes as a result of the breakdown of red blood cells RBC; and it happens within the first 24 hours of life.
From the two types of neonatal jaundice – Physiologic, and Pathologic, Dr. Nyarko said the majority of newborns spontaneously recover without any treatment except for close monitory by health personnel.
However, a small percentage die from complications, while some survivors live with permanent neurologic sequalae (cerebral palsy) for life, and even death.
Risk factors for neonatal jaundice, she said, included a mother with blood group O Rh’ D, a sibling who was jaundiced as neonate, unrecognized hemolysis, non-optimal sucking/nursing, deficiency of G6PD, infection, and bruising.
Neonatal jaundice, according to the medical doctor, can be curb when new mothers are educated on how to detect and handle it before they are discharged from the hospital.
She also advised that new mothers to examine their babies in the early morning sunlight as that would help them detect if their jaundiced, and quickly report to the clinic.
Early breastfeeding after birth, and investing in phototherapy units are the surest way to prevent neonatal jaundice, Dr. Nyarko stressed.
