Damascus-Sana
Every November 17, the world celebrates the International Day of Premature Infants with the aim of drawing attention to the physical, psychological and social burdens caused by premature births, which increase the risk of life and disability of the newborn.
Preterm birth means birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy and is responsible for about half of all deaths and illnesses of children under five, according to the World Health Organization.
According to the Director of Primary Health Care, Dr. Fadi Kassis, the Ministry of Health adopts several special programs for newborn health through monitoring the pregnant mother, monitoring the birth processes and taking care of the child's condition, especially preterm infants, in addition to preparing for the maternal and child health strategy and developing the newborn recovery program.
According to statistics based on the reports of the recovery program applied in 38 hospitals, the number of births during the current year reached 49 thousand births and the rate of prematurity in the same period to 8 thousand for the age of less than 28 weeks and 16 thousand between 28 and 37 weeks, while the mortality rate According to a chaplain, 10 per thousand (45 percent) of them registered premature babies.
He pointed out that a program called "Anab" is being implemented for three years in five government hospitals and is concerned with monitoring the condition of each newborn. He stressed the need to continue to make plans to reduce neonatal mortality and weight loss.
For her part, Dr. Rehman Dahman, head of reproductive health in the Ministry of Health, pointed to the existence of factors predisposing to premature birth, especially the age of pregnant, especially under the age of 18 years and over the age of 35 years, and pregnant women with kidney and heart diseases The last third of pregnancy and psychological distress, pointing out that cesarean delivery and the number of embryos affect the birth of preterm infants, where the proportion of pregnancy twins 2 percent of the case of the birth of premature.
The Ministry of Health started in 2006 the implementation of the newborn care program, according to its director Dr. Mahmoud Al-Khatib and entered into the program of newborn clinics in 2015 and now includes 16 clinics in a number of governorates providing medical and investigative services for newborn infants in addition to premature babies.
On the most important international recommendations for preterm infants, Al-Khatib said that among them is the promotion of breastfeeding exclusively up to the age of six months for the baby and the application of mother's care for her infant and the provision of necessary measures for the care of newborns in hospitals.
A study by the Ministry of Health on the causes of child mortality in 2018 showed that preterm infants accounted for 43 percent of deaths, the first cause, according to the head of the Department of Child and Vaccine Dr. Razan Tarabishi.
Ines Svan