As the World commemorates World Premature Baby Day, calls are being made for bigger and more spacious Neonatal Intensive care units to accommodate premature babies.
Doctor Natasha Rhoda, a Neonatologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town says mothers also need to be allocated big enough spaces to bond with their premature babies.
“Unfortunately, at the moment we have so many hospitals where there just isn’t enough physical space for these babies.”
“The second thing is we need to ensure that the moms are also taken care of. You need space to provide kangaroo mother care.”
“There are centres across the country that provide excellent kangaroo mother-care and in order for them to grow optimally, they need their mothers’ breast milk. One can’t emphasise this more that breast milk – we as neonatologist see as medicine.”
Meanwhile, the Dora Nginza Hospital in Port Elizabeth is also celebrating World Premature Baby Day.
The hospital is raising awareness by giving advice to mothers, on how to look after premature babies.
The hospital’s on-going support emphasises the importance of breastfeeding.
