Rajani Devi, mother of a newborn, was worried about the life of her little son who was severely malnourished but a few weeks at the special newborn care unit (SNCU) has now made her confident about the fact that the child will not just survive but also grow up healthy.
Rajani, a resident of Kochdega village in Simdega district, said, “There is no health care option in our village and I was really worried that my child might not survive. It was then that the sahiyya in our village brought me to the hospital in town and now my baby is very healthy.”
SNCU was established in Simdega Sadar Hospital in the month of April this year and in just three months, a notable decrease in the infant mortality rate was observed in the district.
Deputy commissioner Vipra Bhal said, “The IMR in district which was 18.2 per cent before the centre was set up has gone down by 14 per cent in just three months and has reached 4.2 per cent.”
Civil surgeon of the district Dr. Pramod Kumar Sinha said that the IMR rate in Simdega has also gone down from the national average of 9.2 per cent. “The district tops in the State for low IMR and is has the best performing SNCU,” he said.
The newly constructed SNCU has all the modern equipment and 9 ANM nurses and one doctor have been appointed exclusively for the unit. A nurse informed that they work 24X7 in three shifts, from 8 am to 2 pm, 2pm to 8 pm and night shift from 8 pm to 8 am. Also, there is also a provision for food and lodging of children’s parents.
The doctor in charge of the SNCU, Dr. Bhanu Pratap said, "The children are now being given better treatment. Even after the treatment is over, doctors occasionally organize counseling sessions for the mothers and regular checkups for the children. This follow up is also among the reasons of reduction in IMR."
DC said that the conclusive efforts of doctors and nurses have lead to this big decrease in IMR. "Right guidance and counseling of mother and monitoring sick new born babies has led to IMR reduction. Also, after the child is discharged from SNCU he or she is kept under observation in a step down facility for 48 hours,” she said.
Pawan Kumar of UNICEF working in Simdega informed that recently a survey report was prepared by UNICEF on IMR in the State which showed a huge reduction in IMR in the entire State, especially Simdega.