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Mothers should be well trained on caring for preterm babies to avoid disability, death —Expert

BLESSING  TAIWO 

 

A paediatrician and neonatologist, Dr. Efunbo Dosekun has harped on the need for intensive training for mothers of preterm babies on how to properly care for them.

According to her, the mothers should be knowledgeable on precautions and danger signs to avoid disability and death of the babies.

Dr Dosekun, who is a co-founder of Babies Matter Medical Centre (BMMC), a subsidiary of Outreach Signature Hospitals, Lagos, mentioned these while fielding questions from our correspondent.

Speaking on the system of BMMC in ensuring the babies are well monitored and cared for, the medical practitioner said, “when the preterm babies are ready to go home, we admit the mothers into the hospital and do a training programme for them on how to look after the babies.

“This is because when they go home, there could be a temptation to overfeed the baby which could lead to the baby aspirating the food into the lungs and then sudden death.

“We educate them on the danger signs. We also monitor and follow up on their growth to make sure they are doing well.
The babies should be given specialised milk together with their breast milk.”

She added that the trainings also help to boost the confidence of the mothers and other members of the family on the well-being of the babies.

Dr. Dosekun stressed that the development of preterm babies should be monitored for at least two years to make sure that the babies’ early entrance into the world has not affected their essential organs like the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and others.

“Their hearing and vision must be followed up. The back of their eyes called the retina is exposed to high oxygen because they need it to live.

“Sometimes, some babies develop a problem at the back of the eye but the good news is this can be repaired if detected early. We have such a high focus on prevention. When it is detected early, it can be corrected and reversed to normal.

“At BMMC, we are working very hard to change the narrative, we have looked after over 600 pre term babies. We are proving a point that preterm babies can live,” the expert said.

 

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