The Medical Director, Epe General Hospital, Dr. Oluseyi Adesola, has stated that Preterm Pregnancy is not an issue for the mother alone but all concerned stakeholders, including the government, nation builders, doctors, traditional birth attendants and all people caring for pregnant women.
Dr. Adesola disclosed this during an event organised by the management and staff of the Hospital to commemorate the Y2021 World Prematurity Day, themed: “Zero Separation” with the tagline, “Act Now! Keep Parents and Babies Born Too Soon Together”, adding that if all efforts are focused on a common front, prematurity will drastically reduce in the world.
He explained that the World Prematurity Day, which is celebrated every year in November, was designed to raise awareness on the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally, noting that the day is an opportunity to advocate for every parents’ right to unrestricted access to their babies in the hospital, no matter where and when.
The Medical Director said: “The commemoration also affords all the opportunity to celebrate our babies, the health workers and mothers. Prior to this time, we had a low survival rate of preterm babies in Epe GH but from the moment the Mother and Child facility was provided, we have had a very high rate of survival because we now have better equipment to handle preterm cases. We really appreciate the State government for making it possible”.
In his presentation, Dr. Busayo Babatunde, Head of Pediatrics Department at the Hospital, stated that the day is celebrate the survival of preterm deliveries, their mothers as well as everyone that participates in caring for the babies.
She further noted that although the survival of preterm babies worldwide is still very low because one out of every five die, there has been a huge increase in survival rate due to the improvement in the way the babies are cared for after discharge from hospital.
“The government has a major role in the continued survival of preterm birth by providing good road network, adequate security, more health workers and facilities needed to care for the babies”, she asserted.
Dr. Nurain Ayeola, the Medical Officer for Health (MOH), Epe Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), presented a paper titled: “After Discharge, What Next”, where he highlighted the strategies to adopt for the survival of preterm babies, such as Growth Monitoring, Exclusive Breastfeeding, Immunisation, Oral Hydration, Family Planning and Female Education.
He also commended the Medical Director of Epe GH, Dr. Oluseyi Adesola, for his hard work and commitment to ensuring better service delivery in the hospital.
