Baby steps to saving lives Each year, one in 10 babies around the world will be born prematurely and over a million of those will die. But could measuring the size of a babys feet help save lives? The issue of prematurity is particularly pronounced in South Asian and Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over 80% of the deaths caused by pre-term birth complications. In rural Tanzania, for example, about one in every 30 premature babies wont make it past four weeks. However, most of those lives could be saved with simple advice for mothers. And that advice, says an international group of researchers, could start with just a footprint. Most mothers in high-income countries will give birth surrounded by medical equipment or with the support of a highly-skilled midwife. This means that any problems, such as a low birth-weight or the mothers waters breaking early, can be dealt with immediately. In contrast, around 40% of women giving birth in low-income countries will do so without the help of a trained medical professional. And due to inaccurate dating of pregnancy, many of those women will have no way of telling if their baby is too early or too small. However, measuring the babys footprint could be used as a simple proxy for birth weight. Theres this grey area when the baby is between around 2.4kg (5lbs 5oz) and 2.1kg (4lbs 10oz) when the baby is more vulnerable to infection and other issues, says Dr Joanna Schellenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. If the baby has feet smaller than the smallest foot, around 67mm, then the mother is advised to take the baby to hospital immediately. If it measures in between the big and the small image, then the mother is told about the extra care she needs to provide to increase the babys chances of survival. Although the card is fairly accurate for five days after birth, it should be used it to identify small babies in their first two days of life, which is when theyre most at risk of dying without specialist care. Mariam Ulaya is one of the volunteers at Namayakata shuleni village and visits the women before and after the birth. If Ive measured the childs footprint and seen that the child is smaller than usual, then I instruct them to carry the child skin-to-skin so that the child can share and feel the mothers warmth, says Ulaya.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:59:23 +0000
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