By Moses Njagih and Anderson Ojwang
The Nyeri Provincial General Hospital registers between 20 and 30 new births daily.
A doctor, who declined to be named, said while post-natal wards admit cases related to other birth complications, half or more of the newborns at the nursery unit are born underweight.
He said many of the premature births are born between the sixth and seventh month of pregnancy.
Ms Margaret Mukanzi, a Kenyatta National Hospital kangaroo nursing specialist, handling a new born. Doctors say premature births are on the rise. [PHOTO: JENIFFER WACHIE/STANDARD] |
It indicates that the number of premature births recorded last year is more than double that in 2006. In that year, the hospital recorded 146 premature births. They rose to 265 in 2007 and 339 last year.
"Our records show a high number of premature births last year than in previous years, but we have not taken into account the deliveries of the whole year. The truth is that the ratio is going down," he said.
He says premature births are a small fraction of the deliveries.
The children’s doctor says scientifically, there are no specific causes of premature births.
"We only give conditions in which they may occur, including the mother’s poor diet and poor health.
But as the hospital grapples with premature births, lack of facilities to deal with the situation appears to dampen their efforts.
The doctor said the hospital, which is a referral facility in Central Province and parts of Laikipia, does not have enough equipment. He contradicted hospital Medical Superintendent Samuel Ngugi, who insisted that the institution has sufficient equipment.
Cry of expectation
Dr Ngugi said the hospital has a full-fledged and well-equipped nursery, complete with incubators and resuscitators. But his charges at the nursery ward gave a different account, insisting that what they have is a far cry of expectations.
"We certainly have a problem of equipment because at this level, the infants require special treatment gadgets," said a source who declined to be named. "I believe this information is best given to the media because only then can our facilities improve."
The source says there are no enough biomedical engineers to handle and repair the equipment.
The source concurred with his boss that the hospital had never referred any case to other hospitals for lack of equipment.
Meanwhile, premature births have increased in the North Rift but medics say there is no cause for alarm.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Assistant Deputy Director of Clinical Services Wilson Aruasa says in the last six months, the numbers kept rising but have remained constant since January.
The hospital has eight incubators, and 36 will be installed in a new wing due to open later in the year.
"Last August, we had 26 premature births and in January 37," he said.
The hospital records 500 deliveries a month, of which 30 are premature.
He attributed premature births to neonatal sepsis (infection), abnormalities and mothers’ illness during pregnancy.
