KARACHI, Jan 27: Speakers at a workshop said that the government should take concerted efforts to check neonatal mortality rate as Pakistan ranked sixth among the countries with highest rate of the incidence.

The ten-day workshop on “Essential Newborn Care” organized by Save the Children under its Saving Newborn Lives initiative in collaboration with the Paediatric Unit-One of the Civil Hospital began on Monday.

Health-care experts attributed the critical scenario mainly to bacterial infections, neonatal tetanus, birth trauma and birth asphyxia — a sequel to the fact that 80 per cent deliveries are performed at homes with little consideration towards hygiene and proper safety measures.

Poor health status of mothers was also cited as a major cause of high incidence rate of deaths among neonates.

The speakers discussed the threats to mothers and newborns resulting from unsafe delivery practices of unskilled birth attendants, working under most unhygienic and inadequate conditions.

Prof D.S. Akram, incharge of the paediatrics department at the Civil Hospital, said that the ten-day programme was aimed to train doctors from rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan as master trainers, equipping them to provide basic and essential newborn care in the immediate period after delivery and thereafter besides improving the health of mothers.

Reminding that identified causes of deaths among infants and neonates could be prevented if skilled care were provided during pregnancy, she said the training would aim at enhancing not only the knowledge but also the skills, particularly the counselling techniques.

She said that 60 per cent of deaths in the first year of life occurred in the first month after delivery and that world lost about four million babies every year as still birth.

Dr Nabeela Ali, Deputy Director of the Save the Children, said that the initiative was the first step in preparing and training health workers to reduce parental morbidity and mortality by improved standards of care.

She said that the Saving Newborn Lives is a global initiative and is expected to be extended to 10 to 15 years in six focus countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malawi, Mali and Bolivia.

Dr Nabeela presenting a selected newborn health indicators in South Asia said that neonatal mortality rate of 48.9 per cent in Pakistan was slightly lower compared to Nepal’s 49.9 per cent and higher than 48.4 per cent in Bangladesh and 48.6 per cent in India.

Mentioning that high newborn mortality rates are preventable, she underscored the need for proper antenatal-care, including tetanus toxoid immunization, provision for skilled attendant at birth, clean delivery practices, management of delivery complications, referral in case of complication and postnatal cost.

“Up to 70 per cent of newborn deaths could be prevented through interventions focused on mothers,” she said.

Behaviour change for newborn care was also recommended, including immediate and exclusive breast-feeding, immediate drying and warming, clean cord practices and recognition of danger signs.

Dr Naheed of the women health project for Sindh also spoke.—APP