Mothers with new born babies. [Photo/healthynewbornnetwork.org]
The Ministry of Health has called on health facilities in 26 counties to implement kangaroo mother care (KMC) technique in medical facilities to save lives of babies born prematurely.
The technique, the ministry says, would complement available incubators, adding that shortage of incubators in public hospitals is the leading cause of deaths of preterm infants. So far, only 21 counties use the technique in some of their facilities, while the country only has 20 trainers for the same.
A facility level, only 663 health workers have been trained to implement KMC while only 119 health workers have been trained to train colleagues on KMC. Kangaroo mother care method involves infants being carried, usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact.
The parent’s stable body temperature helps to regulate the neonate’s temperature more smoothly than an incubator and promotes bonding. In a meeting with health officials and stakeholders ahead of World Prematurity Day on Friday, head of New Born unit at the ministry Dr. Allan Govoga said despite the gains made in curbing infant deaths, much still needs to be done.
“Shortage of incubators has led to the risky practice of babies sharing the medical equipment. Because of the shortage, babies spend less than the normal amount of time in the incubators to make room for new arrivals,” he said.
Govoga said the uptake of KMC needs to be fully implemented, noting that it reduces death rates by half among stable pre-term babies. Kenyatta National Hospital Newborn Unit head nurse Florence Onyango called on the government to provide more incubators in public hospitals.