Studycentre

Statistics indicate that India can avert about 71% of an estimated 6 lakh neonatal deaths each year if all mothers deliver at a healthcare facility, have access to caesarean section services, safe blood and if special care for sick newborns are available. Neonatal deaths take place within the first 28 days of life and account for 62% of all under-5 deaths in India.

An estimated 5 million women still deliver at home each year without any skilled birth attendance, with half the births taking place in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone. Globally, 2.9 million lives of mothers and children can be saved by 2030 by providing pre-conception care during pregnancy, labour and delivery, care of the healthy newborn and help for sick newborns. The following points are a must to remember after childbirth.

• Wash hands with soap or use a hand sanitizer before touching the baby.
• Be careful to support the baby’s head and neck.
• Breastfeed within an hour of birth.
• Ensure that the baby is exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.
• Child should be fed on demand or at least 8 times in 24 hours.
• Avoid feeding honey, water or things other than breast milk.
• Give the baby a sponge bath until the umbilical cord falls off and the navel heals completely (1-4 weeks).

— Courtesy Heart Care Foundation of India