By Dorothy Frances Ward
Kumasi. May 28. GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and child health stakeholders must implement effective and sustainable interventions to prevent and treat newborn jaundice as a way of reducing infant mortality, Dr. Abena Asante Krobea, a Medical Officer at KNUST Hospital, has suggested.
She said strengthening awareness would largely prevent neonatal jaundice and ensure that no child suffers from its preventable complications.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, Dr. Asante Krobea said newborn jaundice had become quite common among new babies and that the month of May had been set aside for awareness creation and prevention.
The theme for the exercise is “From Awareness to Action: Promoting Timely Diagnosis and Treatment for all Jaundice Newborns across Ghana.”
Neonatal Jaundice is a yellow colouration of the body of newborns because of the accumulation of unconjugated bilirubin.
About 60 percent of infants of full term get jaundice and 80 percent of pre-term newborns have yellow pigmentation in their eyes.
Eleven million babies develop this condition globally.
She said that health facilities were focusing on early detection and appropriate management strategies.
They are also prioritising education for mothers, adequate breastfeeding and timely health monitoring of newborns.
“Effective breast feeding keeps the yellow away,” Dr. Asante Krobea noted.
She stressed the need for breastfeeding mothers to be encouraged and supported to have adequate breastmilk to feed infants, saying that it is a proven and effective way of ensuring good health for babies.
She also mentioned the strengthening of antenatal care, improved access to healthcare and training of more health professionals for effective maternal health care.
The health and wellbeing of new babies must be a priority for the family and stakeholders to prevent infant and maternal mortalities.
She advised pregnant mothers to prioritise attendance of antenatal clinic to help prevent complications in pregnancy and childbirth for both mother and baby.
GNA
YI/Christian Akorlie