Pelonomi: A safe haven for ‘Prems’

In the past year, 780 premature babies were admitted at the hospital’s Kangaroo centre

The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) centre at Pelonomi Hospital is empowering thousands of women who deliver premature babies across the province to take care of their children until they are fully developed.

Kangaroo care is a technique practiced on new-born, usually premature, infants wherein the infant is held, skin-to-skin, with an adult. Kangaroo care for premature infants may be restricted to a few hours per day, but if they are medically stable that time may be extended. Some parents may keep their babies in-arms for many hours per day.

Kangaroo care, named for the similarity to how certain marsupials carry their young, was initially developed to care for preterm infants in areas where incubators are either unavailable or unreliable.

Kangaroo care seeks to provide restored closeness of the new-born with mother or father by placing the infant in direct skin-to-skin contact with one of them. This ensures physiological and psychological warmth and bonding. The kangaroo position provides ready access to nourishment.

The parent’s stable body temperature helps to regulate the neonate’s temperature more smoothly than an incubator, and allows for readily accessible breastfeeding. While this model of infant care is substantially different from the typical Western Nednatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) procedures, the two are not mutually exclusive.

Many young mothers, who are forced to deal with the burden of having to deliver premature babies, receive assistance at the Pelonomi Hospital KMC centre. Nombulelo Ngwilingwili (26) is one of the mothers who delivered triplets prematurely. The shock she experienced after being told she was carrying triplets forced her into early labour and premature delivery.

According to Ngwilingwili, she had never in her life thought she would have triplets, let alone, premature babies.  “They were born at 32 weeks on June 5 and weighed under 2kg each. They were between 1.1kg and 1.3kg at birth and this was a very overwhelming experience.”

She had been going for sonar screenings but the doctor could not detect the presence of the other two children. She delivered the babies at the National Hospital and moved to the Kangaroo Mother Care centre at Pelonomi Hospital where they look after premature babies.

She is one of 64 mothers who are currently admitted to the hospital. She regularly has to carry her babies against her warm chest in order to provide them with body heat.  Ngwilingwili said the doctors at the centre have placed her three children in her care. She holds them in a kangaroo position for several hours to regulate their body temperature and ensure they develop better than they would if they were in an incubator.

She said she would not have made it without the support of her mother, doctors and nurses at the hospital. “This was actually a learning curve for me and my mother. The doctors taught me how to hold them, because there are three of them.

They taught me how to handle them and deal with challenges when they fall sick.” Ngwilingwili said she breastfeeds two of the babies while one relies on bottle milk.

“The fact that two of them use bottles made life easier for me and as much as I wanted to leave the hospital, I had to motivate myself and tell myself that these children will be better and they did.”

Dr. Annelie van der Vyver of the neonatal unit at the Pelonomi Hospital said the KMC centre accommodates all children born under 2kg. Van der Vyver said the neonatal unit relies on the assistance of social workers, physiotherapists and dieticians to ensure that the premature babies remain healthy, and empower their mothers to take better care of them.

“We currently have 34 beds for mothers and babies in high care unit, a unit for the heavily sick newborns. We also have the Kangaroo unit which operates 24 hours a day. The mothers stay in that unit with their babies and do not rely on any incubators for survival.”

Van der Vyver told The Weekly patients at the unit come from as far afield as Xhariep to receive help with their premature babies in the KMC ward. According to Van der Vyver, 780 premature babies were admitted at the hospital in the past year.

A social worker at the maternity department, Sanet Paulsen, said mothers who give birth to premature babies are faced with a number of psychological as well as socio-economic challenges.

“What we do as social workers is to ensure that the homes of the mothers is conducive for the premature babies. We also make sure that there is placement for abandoned babies, support services for the emotional turmoil they deal with and we also help bury the premature babies who die during the process.”

Paulsen said women often give birth to premature babies due to relationship stress, lack of family support and in some instances because they give birth in their early teens.

“I have established an open-door policy to accommodate these mothers; some of those who have left for home are able to call me at any time. So we have created a situation where mothers nursing premature babies are able to access all means of support.”

HOW TO AVOID EARLY LABOUR

Eliminate the bad:  
Quit smoking, drinking, or using drugs.

Watch your weight:
Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can up your odds of developing gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, both of which increase preterm labor risk. Gaining too little weight during pregnancy is another significant risk factor (as well as a risk factor for a baby born too small). Aim for the right gain (for the average woman — 25 to 35 pounds) and you’ll greatly improve your chances of delivering a full-sized baby at full term.

Take your prenatal vitamins:
Not only will that one pill a day enhance your overall health and that of your growing baby, but it’ll also improve the odds that you’ll carry to term. It doesn’t take the place of a balanced diet, but it’s insurance that every pregnant woman should invest in.

Eat well:    
That balanced diet is good for you, for your baby, and for your pregnancy. And here’s yet another reason why: Making sure you get the right mix of nutrients can help prevent preterm labor — with extra special mention going to omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, C, and E, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and the famously baby-friendly folic acid. (See The Pregnancy Diet.)

Eat often:
Research suggests that it’s not enough to ship your baby all the right nutrients — you should also make those shipments as regular as possible.  Pregnant women who eat at least five times a day (three meals and two snacks, or five smaller meals, for instance) are less likely to deliver prematurely.

Drink up:  
Getting your eight glasses of fluids a day (more if you’re exercising or it’s very hot) will keep you hydrated — and staying hydrated increases your odds of keeping baby put. Dehydration can lead to premature contractions.

Be good to your gums: 
Preventative dental care is one of your first (and best, and easiest) lines of defense in preventing preterm labor, which can be triggered by gum disease. So brush, floss, and visit your dentist at least once during your pregnancy — not just for your regular cleaning, but also to take care of any little problems before they become big ones.

Go when you gotta go:   
Holding in your urine, besides being uncomfortable, can inflame your bladder — which in turn could irritate your uterus and set off contractions. Not going when you gotta go could also lead to a urinary tract infection, another cause of preterm contractions. So make a habit of peeing when you’ve got the urge to go.

Treat it:  
If you’re considered high-risk because you have BV (bacterial vaginosis), ask your practitioner if an oral antibiotic is right for you. Some studies show that symptomatic women with BV who are treated with antibiotics have a reduced risk of preterm delivery. Other studies, though, have disputed those findings, saying that there is no reduction in the rate of premature delivery even if the infection (both BV and other STDs) is treated. Your practitioner will be able to best guide you.
-whattoexpect.com