Pre-Maturity Month- 26 weeks extreme preterm baby survives at Eastside life Hospital.
A team of medical Doctors, paediatricians and a team of midwives at Eastside life Hospital in Bolgatanga has successfully delivered and saved the life of a 26 weeks plus 4 days old extreme preterm baby which has over 90% risk of dying in the developing world like Ghana.
As Ghana and the rest of the world celebrates Pre-Maturity Month in November, preterm birth has been the focus especially in the Upper East Region which is considered a poor region with unavailability of medical resources and equipment to save children born in this maternal condition.
But with the establishment of Eastside life Hospital in Bolgatanga with the availability of all the modern medical equipment at the hospital, the first extreme preterm baby born at the facility survived with the support of qualified and committed health workers.
The extreme preterm baby called Ayumbeo was delivered at a gestational age of 26 weeks + 4 days on October 11 with a birth weight of 0.89 kg . The baby is currently weighing 1.13 kg after discharged from the hospital with constant home visit by the medical staff of the Eastside life Hospital to ensure the standard practice of all the components of post delivery of preterm babies.
According to the world Health Organization, preterm is defined as Babies Born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are Completed. There are sub-categories of preterm birth, based on gestational age: Extremely preterm ( less than 28 weeks), very preterm ( 28 weeks to less than 32 weeks) and moderate to late preterm ( 32 to 37 weeks.)
Baby Ayumbeo is therefore classified as a preterm baby according to WHO definitions.
According to medical report of the mother of the preterm baby at the Regional Hospital, this is the second extreme preterm baby she has delivered but unfortunately she lost the first baby whiles the current baby is alive through the hard work of Health professionals and the equipment which includes a well modern functional NICU at the facility.
An advanced midwifery specialist of Eastside life Hospital Mrs. Elizabeth Ogoe Anum working as a part time staff said through the skin to skin and the Kangaroo mother care (KMC) with infectious preventive, the extreme preterm baby is still alive.
” So our month has been a beautiful one because every day we get to see our preterm baby, we do home visit, the entire Eastside life Hospital family goes to visit the baby on a schedule”, she said.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ogoe added ” we at Eastside life Hospital want to add our voice to the WHO and let the world know that, even though majority of the preterm causes are unknown and happen spontaneously, something can be done about it”.
The advance midwifery specialist advised every Ghanaian especially, to go and rally behind the principles of having inculcated KMC into the daily and routine practices for the extreme preterm so the babies will make it alive after birth.
Elsewhere, the survival of preterm depends on the country of origin and 90% of babies born at extreme preterm and the survival rate is so low with higher chances of dying. Whiles in the developed countries have less than 10% of survival rate.
Baby Ayumbeo being in the 10% rate of survival and being alive without dying is something worth celebrating considering the ultra modern NICU that was used to save her life with support from the committed staff of the hospital who were already on standby to deliver her.
According to midwifery specialists, babies of that nature must be kept alive within the first few days of delivery because majority of such babies dies in developing countries Iike Ghana.
The Senior Medical Officer and head of the Neonatal intensive Care Unit of the Upper East Regional Hospital, Dr. Gillian Bogee who was part of the team that delivered baby Ayumbeo said the facility has and still practicing all the components to sustain an extreme preterm baby which includes gaining of baby weight, mother knowledge on KMC, confidence in handling the baby at home and thus explained the various indicators to sustain baby Ayumbeo.
” Whiles on admission, we had to teach Ayumbeo’s mother, Elizabeth Ayumbeo, a 35 year old woman how to cup feed the baby because the baby had a period of transition from Nasogastric ( NG) to feeding, we had to teach the mother how to feed the baby through the NG tube. We always want to involve the mothers or their relatives when it comes to handling the baby, we want them ( Mothers) to really do more touching of the baby than we the health workers” Dr Bogee explained.
” We had to teach Ayumbeo’s mother how to patiently feed the baby with the cup even with the NG tube and whiles we were even feeding with the cup, we were still doing top ups” she added.
In an interview with the the 35 year old Mother of Baby Ayumbeo, Elizabeth Ayumbeo, She is thankful to the management of the Hospital for saving her child and She never thought of seeing her child alive due to the last experience she had when the baby had to die after birth.
Elizabeth Ayumbeo thanked Eastside life Hospital for waiving part of the bills when she was admitted till she delivered.
The Acting Chief Medical Officer of Eastside life Hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong said it was quite an incredible achievement because is not a common phenomenal to have a baby at that age and still have hope that the baby can survive but they ( Eastside life Hospital staff) knew that with the team they had on the ground including a qualified and committed medical team with the best midwives and equipment, the baby can survive and the baby eventually is alive.
Dr. Frimpong Extended an appreciation to the high hierarchy of the hospital for giving them all the necessary resources and support to achieve this feet.
Preterm Birth Complications are the leading causes of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for approximately 900,000 deaths in 2019.
Source: Rabiu Tanko Mohammed / Ghananewss.com
