Unicef introduces kangaroo mother care

Provides diarrhoea and salt deficiency treatment units at Qatar Hospital

KARACHI:

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has introduced Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) for premature and underweight neonates.

Introducing the KMC procedure at the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, the Unicef officials explained that premature and underweight babies are kept in a specially devised pocket between the breasts of mother like a kangaroo mom's pouch to provide warmth.

Unicef has provide healthcare unit for pregnant women and preterm children in the densely populated Orangi Town area to receive free medical care.

As per details, diarrhoea and salt deficiency treatment units were inaugurated at Sindh Government Qatar Hospital with the support of the Sindh Health Department and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

Chief Field Officer UNICEF Sindh, Prem Chand Bahadur and Medical Superintendent Sindh Government Qatar Hospital Orangi Town Karachi Zahid Ali Zaidi and others participated in the inauguration ceremony.

Bahadur said, "other medical supplies, such as incubators, have been sent to the hospital to improve the mother and child healthcare."

The opening of a centre for diarrhoea treatment and an oral rehydration therapy centre will allow for the efficient care and treatment of certain children who are diarrheal. New incubators, phototherapy equipment, warmers, and other NICU-specific medical devices will be included in the neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] upgrade, improving NICU treatment."

KMC is an alternative method for premature infants. This programme encourages close touch between the mother and the baby and wrapping the baby in a pocket attached to the mother, he said.

As a result, it not only deepens their emotional connection but also helps the baby maintain its body temperature.

Establishing these facilities would offer the residents of Orangi Town and the surrounding areas better and more up-to-date health treatment, he added. Kangaroo Mother Care involves a pocket worn on the mother's bosom to keep underweight and premature babies like a kangaroo mom's pouch. While the mother can move freely, the child will continue to receive warmth and security and also mother's feed, said Qatar Hospital senior doctor Dr Iqbal Haziq Ali Jafri.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2023.