• Kangaroo
Mother Care Can Avert Such Loss – Experts
By Chioma Umeha
Before the curtain of last year closed, about
240,000 premature Nigerian children died from complications, according to
Mamaye 2016 factsheet on Nigeria preterm babies, mainly due to lack of
incubators and other specialized devices to care for them in the country’s
health facilities.
Yet, only few parents are aware that a
skin-to-skin form of care between a mother and her baby, known as kangaroo
mother care (KMC), is an effective alternative to an incubator. Experts said,
the KMC, if initiated immediately and continuously after birth, will save
premature babies from death or complications.
Rebecca Akinwale, middle aged mother is one of the
few examples of the success stories of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). She gave
birth to a preterm – baby David who was at birth 1.2kg, but now is 1.99kg
through the aid of Kangaroo Mother Care method.
She told Independent: “When I gave birth to David,
I was at loss on what to do because he was underweight. He was born on October
12, 2016. In fact I was confused on what to do to help my baby. So, I started
practising the Kangaroo Mother Care(KMC) method. Kangaroo Mother Care is about
keeping the baby warm. I do that for two hours daily. After a couple of days, I
noticed that my baby has increased in weight.
Rebecca added: “Once I put him on my chest and tie
the wrapper, he feels very okay and comfortable. The weight of David at birth
was 1.2kg. Today, he is 1.99kg. All one needs is thick wrapper. In the room where
you will stay with the baby, there will be no air condition and fan. But it
must be well ventilated.
“So other parents, who have such issues, can
embrace the technique, it is good, natural and cost effective,” she added.
Speaking during a Mamaye Media Roundtable on
Prematurity in Nigeria, a Professor of Pediatrics at the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital and President of Nigeria Society of Neonatal Medicine, Prof.
Chinyere Ezeaka, explained that KMC is an effective alternative to an
incubator.
According to Prof. Ezeaka, 980,000 preterm and low
birth weight babies are born each year in Nigeria, yet most health facilities
cannot care for them. The President of Nigeria Society of Neonatal Medicine
said the solution is KMC. According to her, Kangaroo Mother Care is a method of
care practiced on babies, newborn, usually preterm, and infants in which the
infant is held skin-to-skin with an adult. The adult could be the mother,
father, substitute caregiver or a relation who holds or ties the baby
skin-to-skin with a thick cloth. So instead of parents running about looking
for incubators which is expensive and not so available, they should practice
the KMC on their babies.
It is evidence-based and an affordable alternative
to incubator care. Presently in Nigeria, there are not enough incubators at the
health facilities. We also have issue of manpower, power supply, and general
maintenance.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Lancet
Neonatal Survival series, 2005 have recommended KMC as a standard of care for
preterm babies especially in low income countries.”
The Professor of Pediatrics also said that
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) will help stabilize the baby’s heart rate, improve
his breathing pattern, improve oxygen saturation in the baby and helps him to
gain weights among others.
According to the don, newborn mortality remains
one of the challenges confronting Nigeria and other less developed countries.
Ezeaka noted: “Each year, an estimated 240,000
newborn babies die in their first month of life out of approximately seven
million annual deliveries. Nigeria ranks the highest in Africa in terms of the
number of neonatal deaths and second globally. That is about 650 deaths per
day.
Ezeaka said that newborn mortality has to do with
deaths within 28 days of birth, saying in Nigeria the incidence is high with
240,000 newborn deaths occurring before the 28 days.
“Newborn mortality remains a huge challenge in
Nigeria and other countries that are still medically developing. By newborn
mortality, I mean deaths in children within 28 days of birth.
“Premature birth complication is the direct cause
of 31 per cent of newborn deaths in Nigeria and 80 per cent indirect cause.
Globally, the country ranks third among countries with the highest number of
preterm births with an annual preterm birth rate of about 773,600,” she added.
Few mothers like Rebecca could count themselves to
be lucky, but, Habiba Abubakar cannot. Aged 29, Habiba lives at in Morenike
Street, Ayobo, Lagos. Habiba is among many mothers whose babies have died
premature, while searching for an incubator, without any knowledge about KMC
method. At 28 weeks’ pregnancy, Habiba started feeling severe abdominal cramps
late one Sunday night.
Her words: “Then, very early one Monday morning, I
got up and found myself bleeding. It was 5.30am on a Monday. My husband rushed
me to a nearby private hospital. At the hospital, the doctor asked: Are you
feeling any pain? And I said: Yes. I was shocked when the doctor informed me
that the pain was contraction. I knew that at 28 weeks, it was too early for me
to deliver. Within a short period, our baby boy- Sulaimon was out, very tiny
and frail, weighing 1.2kg,” Habiba told Independent.
She said: “I did not need any prophet to tell me
that I was in trouble as the hospital did not have any incubator to support my
baby.
So they were quickly referred to Alimosho General
Hospital, as the baby must be supported in an incubator and placed on other
specialized care.
She further said: “At the General Hospital, we
were told that there was no free incubator. We were again referred to Lagos
State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). At LASUTH, we were again turn down
because the incubators were all occupied. We were further referred to Lagos
University Teaching Hospital(LUTH), Idiaraba.
The journey from one hospital to another started
taking its toll on the baby – both the traffic and smoke on the road did not
help matters. He died before we arrived LUTH,” she said.
Baby Sulaimon is simply one out of thousands of
Nigerian children who die yearly, due to premature birth complication,
according to Mamaye 2016 factsheet on preterm births. Regrettably, many of
these deaths could have been prevented if proper and specialized care had been
available and accessible immediately after birth.
She said: “Emphasis should be on prevention of
premature birth. There must be early antenatal care to identify and manage high
risk pregnancies. Problems related to teenage pregnancies, malnutrition and
multiple births can increase the chances of preterm births. Other causes
include: kidney diseases,
hypertension, stress, urinary tract infections and diabetes.”
Similarly, Mrs. Ojulari Ope, matron at LUTH, urged
parents with preterm babies to embrace Kangaroo Mother Care as the only
alternative to incubator.
“This is what has been embraced worldwide and it
has saved millions of children who were born preterm from dying due to the cost
of incubator. We have handled cases at LUTH and I can tell you that Kangaroo
Mother Care is the solution to such issues,” she said.
