A spate of deaths of newborn babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital at Mundiyambakkam has set off alarm bells in a State, which has been trying to bring down Neonatal Mortality Rate and Infant Mortality Rate over the years.
In November 2014, 11 neonatal deaths were reported in Dharmapuri district. As many as seven new born babies admitted at the NICU in Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital (VGMCH) died within a span of 24 hours on April 15. Parents of four babies admitted at the NICU sought early discharge on Friday. About 70 babies are under intensive care at the NICU at the maternity hospital, which caters to 90 per cent of institutionalised deliveries in the region.
Janarthanan and Selvi, parents of a 27-day-old girl from Anatur near Villupuram who died on Sunday, alleged that the death was due to malfunctioning of the ventilator in the NICU.
“The baby was born in the hospital and admitted to the NICU after it developed convulsions. However, the ventilators malfunctioned due to frequent power cuts. There was no proper response from the doctors in the NICU. Had they advised us we would have taken our baby to some other hospital,” he said.
However, officials ruled out negligence and claimed that the deaths were due to low birth weight-related issues and delivery-related complications.
Neonatal specialists at the Institute of Child Health, Chennai, attributed the deaths to low birth weight, premature birth and birth related complications.
S. Srinivasan, state coordinator, State Nodal Centre-National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), ICH said that four babies had died in the NICU in a short span of three to four hours on April 15, while three babies died on different days before that.
Of the four babies – two were premature delivery and had respiratory distress. They were put on ventilator support. The mother of the second baby had high blood pressure and her condition was very critical. The baby died of prematurity and respiratory distress.
The third baby was referred to the NICU and had come with septicaemia, while the fourth baby had birth-related complications. Despite the best efforts of paediatricians the babies died, he said.
The neonatal mortality rate of Villupuram is 11 per 1,000 as against the State’s average of 15. Of the 2,300 intramural babies (born and admitted at the same hospital), the mortality rate was 13 per cent in 2013. This had come down to 12 percent in 2014.
The neonatal mortality rate of babies referred from other hospitals to the Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital was 17 per cent in 2014, against 20 per cent in 2013. The neonatal mortality rate is not the indicator of the hospital but that of the entire district. Institutional deliveries had increased in the district and the deaths had come down.
Dr. Kumudha, Head of the Department, Neonatalogy at the Institute of Child Health, Chennai, said there were several taboos that negated ante-natal care. For instance, women did not take iron tablets and folic acid. Malnutrition and anaemia are prevalent among ante-natal mothers, who lack family support.
The above conditions can be avoided with early ante-natal care registration and maintaining normal haemoglobin level with iron and folic acid supplements, she added.
Parents complain of hospital negligence, while doctors cite medical reasons
