Local Medforum Hospital contributes to World Prematurity Day
WORLD PREMATURITY DAY: A CHANCE TO RECOGNISE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
A mother finds herself planning and preparing for the arrival of a wonderful gift. Hopes and dreams are born in her mind as she bonds with her unborn child. Then, for whatever reason, her baby is born, too early, too small and unprepared for life in the big world. In South Africa, 8 of every 100 babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. And of those babies, 10 percent do not survive.
An average of about 3000 babies are born early each year at Mediclinic. Many of these babies are treated within the Neo Natal CCU (Critical Care Unit), with staff specialising in nurturing these tiny forms. Introducing parents to these experiences is an important part of educating and preparing them for the long journey that may await them.
How can the staff and doctors assist in preparing parents for what they can expect? This was explored at a function at Mediclinic Medforum this week, where World Preemie Day was celebrated and the contributions from doctors and nursing staff were recognised.
Gladys Magodielo is one of these moms who found her daughter weighed only 936g at birth. Put into a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) to assist with her daughter Mmakgotso’s breathing, without which her baby would not survive. This journey took its toll, with her daughter losing weight before eventually developing and being able to drink from a bottle and finally being held properly by her mom.
Mother Andiswa Phaahla is currently experiencing the highs and lows of her baby’s journey to discharge, having had her son at 27 weeks, and weighing only 940g. She says that when she saw him for the first time she was very confused, “I got so emotional that I cried for a very long time.” But in his positive fighting spirit, her son has improved; she acknowledges “I have the hospital staff and their unwavering dedication to thank”.
A Paediatrician at Mediclinic Medforum, Doctor Farrah Ismail, presented some statistics in comparison to other Vermont Oxford Network (VON) hospitals. VON is a non-profit voluntary collaboration of health care professionals working together as an interdisciplinary community to change the landscape of neonatal care. By measuring the successes in a hospital against this community promising statistics are provided on the work done within this hospital. Areas such as morbidity gives strong results with Mediclinic Medforum having a 22% morbidity rate compared to a VON frequency of up to 45%. Other statistics such as IVH (Intra Ventricular Haemorrhage) show a dramatic 2% vs 22% ratio. Referring to ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity), a disease that can affect the blood vessels of the retina in a premature baby’s eyes, Dr Ismail indicated that Mediclinic Medforum only has a 3% occurrence in comparison to other VON hospitals who had up to a 30% prevalence.
We recognise not just the team at Mediclinic Medforum, but all healthcare professionals from doctors, physiotherapists to nurses and all others involved in the journey across our 38 neo-natal facilities.