40% of babies born in maternal and child hospitals are born prematurely

head of Neonatology Service of Mother and Child Hospitaldoctor Liliana CoronelIt was found that 40% of births in the Maternal and Child Hospital are premature, which is why it was considered necessary to conduct antenatal check-ups and promote awareness in the community about the importance of preventing premature births.

Within the framework of Prematurity Week, which is celebrated worldwide from 13 to 17 November, and with the aim of promoting the care and rights of girls and boys born prematurely, hospitals and health centers throughout the province ran a series Have been. The week’s activities were coordinated by the Teaching and Research Department of the Mother and Child Hospital.

Premature newborns are girls and boys who do not complete 37 weeks of gestation in the womb. The main reason for admission to neonatology services is prematurity; It can also cause significant consequences and become a risk factor for infant mortality.

In this regard, Doctor Mohd. Liliana Coronel talked with Morning Information and awareness days organized by the Maternal and Child Hospital were reported with the aim of sensitizing the community about the importance of preventing preterm birth.

In this sense, he indicated that in the said institution various activities are carried out on different days of the week, working with parents and nursing to address various important issues, especially for vulnerable children such as premature babies. But.

activities

Regarding the activities of the Prematurity Week, he indicated that they started on Monday with a CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Recovery) workshop given by neonatology graduates and doctors from the field in the nutrition room of the Maternal and Child Hospital.

A workshop for parents was also held in the neonatology service on Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of hand washing in the management of newborns. This workshop was taught by nursing graduates who were experts in neonatology and by neonatology nursing residencies, and was attended by all the fathers, grandparents and mothers present.

Dr. Coronel commented that a workshop was held this Wednesday for parents and caregivers of high-risk premature babies, emphasizing important topics such as safe sleep, breastfeeding and accident prevention . It was directed by neonatologist pediatrician Dr. Norma Benitez and the nutrition service of the Maternal and Child Hospital.

The week’s activities will culminate this Friday with a Premature Baby Party, where premature babies and their families will be entertained with a variety of activities throughout the hospital from 9:30am onwards.

The head of the neonatology service at the Mother and Child Hospital explained that Prematurity Week has a motto: “that the family has access to the newborn, without any restrictions, without schedules, at all times, which is something that we gradually -Slowly implementing less complex neonatology rooms.” He said that for this, along with parents and family members, health workers are also trained.

He highlighted that this measure, which is promoted around the world, “promotes skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding also contributes to the baby’s attachment and neurodevelopment, and protects the family from premature newborns.” Empowers to participate in the care of the child.”

number of premature babies

Regarding the number of premature babies born every year, Dr. Coronel said that There were 2,490 hospital births in 2022, of which 40% were admitted due to preterm birth, He indicated that there were other causes as well, “but the main causes are premature birth and the various malformations that come with having a premature baby.”

He highlighted the sense that the neonatology service of the Maternal and Child Hospital has sufficient capacity, pointing out that it is composed of four rooms, an intensive care unit where critically ill newborns are kept and two intermediate rooms In which their treatment is going on or is ongoing. Their treatment. Pathologies sensitive to premature birth, and a recovery room “where small children have already become less complex, they are without antibiotic treatment, without oxygen therapy, and that’s when they are without access to family. are interacting with each other, so that, of different weights, “they can have skin-to-skin contact with each other.”

Importance of prenatal checkup

Regarding the factors affecting the birth of a premature baby, he explained that “The most important thing is prevention, it is prenatal control care, whether clinical or ultrasound, detection of various anomalies that can occur from birth “The former are preventable and treatable and do not increase the risk of preterm birth. In other words, there are common malformations that are easy to treat.”

He also clarified that the percentage of admissions “does not correspond only to the maternal and child hospital, but also to premature babies who come from the entire interior and also from private clinics, because of our great complexity. Thanks to this, we now meet it with extreme immaturity.”

He indicated that some of the factors that cause premature birth “often lack awareness of control, as there are many maternal pathologies that cause premature birth, such as gestational hypertension during pregnancy, Diabetes, which often causes infections. That is why it is important to emphasize the importance of prenatal control, as these are treatable pathologies that do not lead to the threat of premature birth.

follow up

When asked about the development of premature babies after they are discharged from the hospital, he explained that “We have a monitoring service for high-risk newborns, which is run by Dr. Marilu Benitez, who has been there for many years.” Have been dealing with this issue since. , where the child has to undergo ophthalmological, neurological, clinical examination, cardiological examination and above all and mainly control of the nutritional progress and background of the child.”

He explained that these children, “when their chronological age reaches gestational age, they always have the lowest weight, the lowest growth, because their age is right for the season. So one has to follow them very strictly. Does this to see how the nutritional part, the metabolic part and their growth and development proceed, and interacts with all the specialties within the service hospital, such as cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology, speech therapy, to see the development And the prognosis for each child,” he concluded.