In a shocking case of early neo-natal deaths on a single day, five new born babies died in succession within a span of few hours here at the Government Hospital, late Friday evening. Among the five new born children, four were baby girls.
Of the five, three babies were born in primary health centers (PHC) and were later admitted to the Government Hospital here with respiratory and other complications.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ellangovan, Dean of Medicine, Dharmapuri Government Hospital said of the five babies, three were severely underweight and two suffered from Respiratory distress syndrome. A one-day old baby boy born at Paalayampudur PHC in Eachampatti was brought to the Government Hospital on November 12. The baby that had weighed 1.5 kg was brought in an ‘108 ambulance’. Similarly, another one- day old baby girl born at Boodhanathapattam PHC in Paapireddypatty was brought in an ambulance. The latter baby weighing 1.1 kg died on Friday.
The third baby from a Morappur PHC near Harur was brought to the GH with breathing complications. The baby that weighed 2.7 kg survived for less than 48 hours. Of the two babies delivered at Dharmapuri government hospital, “one was a caesarean delivery, as the mother was suffering from ante-natal hypertension, and we needed to save the mother. The other baby delivered normally had respiratory distress syndrome,” Dr. Elangovan said. While two babies died of respiratory complications, three others died of complications arising from premature birth including underweight. “The normal weight for health survival is 2.5 -3 kg.”
“When the babies suffer from respiratory distress syndrome, they are put under ventilation, but other parameters should support their survival. But, here the survival rate is about 0.8 percent,” the Dean said. Also, the mothers were aged between 19 years and 27 years of age. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of Dharmapuri is 17 per 1000 births. ‘Ideally no baby should be born below 2.5 kg, and we are far behind reaching that stage,” says a source. The incident however has shone light on the poor reproductive health of women in this backward district.
