Health workers trained in handling pre-mature babies

In an effort to reduce the high number of premature deaths, health facilities in Kampala have stepped up training for their health workers aimed at equipping them with skills to handle such babies.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), a preterm is defined as birth of a baby less than 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed.

About 225,000 Ugandan babies are born premature annually and up to 9,800 children under five die from complications related to prematurity. 

Over 54 health workers including doctors, nurses and midwives underwent vigorous five-days training done by newborn specialists at International Hospital Kampala (IHK) recently.

They were from Nsambya, Rubaga, Kiwoko hospitals, Kampala hospital, Nakasero hospital, Paragon, Life Link and IHK hospitals.

Dr. Yaser Abdallar, new born specialist at IHK said the training was organized to purposely improve and equip health workers with skills and knowledge on how provide facility neonatal care, which is care given to babies less than one month when in the hospital, whether well or sick, born mature or immature.

The training was also to standardize the kind of care newborns and premature babies should receive whether born in private or public health centres so that all have equal chances to survive.

 "The care for newborns is highly valid; however, in practice different health facilities handle such babies differently. We want to create a critical mass of health workers who understand the common conditions of newborns and how to manage them," he said

"In Uganda, the commonest causes of new born death include prematurity, infections and babies who come out tired. Special care must be given to these babies so as to prevent complications and ensure they survive and also have quality life, whether such a baby is born in a private or public hospital, they should all have equal chances to survive," he added.

They were trained in areas such as handling a baby who is born tired, nutrition, how to prevent infections, how to care for the eyes and skin of the premature babies and how to use different machines to better the outcome of the babies.

Others are breastfeeding, how to prevent low and high blood temperature using methods like kangaroo mother care, how to immunize such babies, how to keep the baby comfortable to minimize stress during neonatal days.

Dr. Elizabeth Byakwaga working at Kampala hospital said has gained a lot of knowledge in neonatal resuscitation.

This is the intervention given to a baby after being born to help it breathe and help its heart beat.

"After being born, some of the babies born prematurely may forget to breathe or some do not cry, such babies need to be resuscitated. This helps with airways, breathing. I have also learnt how to manage infections like anemia, low blood sugars that can kill a baby," she said

Sarah Nasaka, a nurse at IHK said babies born prematurely face challenges like extreme low birth weight with some at 600grams, are babies prone to infections, have difficulty breathing, feeding and mothers are taught how to handle such babies.

Nasaka also said dealing with mothers who have given birth to premature babies is a challenge; they are stressed and easily irritable due to emotional distress, high accumulative treatment costs and sometimes turn this anger on midwives, but have to be handled with special care too.