By Hamu Madzedze
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals maternity wing known as Mbuya Nehanda has made history by becoming the first maternity hospital in the country to provide special care to preterm babies through the use of the Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care(IKMC) method.
With the Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care method , after delivery the preterm baby is placed on the mothers' chest instead of being separated from the mother and placed in an incubator in the nursery.
Addressing health journalists during a media tour of the various projects taking place at the institution, the hospital's specialist Neonatologist Dr Alex Stevenson said the IMKC will go a long way in reducing neonatal mortality rate in the country .
Dr Stevenson added that the Kangaroo Mother Care method has been used in the past for bigger babies but now they have adopted it for preterm babies since it has been proven that babies do better on their mothers chest.
"We thought of taking a radical and revolutionary approach and introduce the IKMC which enables the mother to become the incubator and they can modify the temperature of their chest relative to their babies temperature and whenever the temperature of the baby is low they can heat it up"said Dr Stevenson
(Dr Stevenson examining one of the babies who are under the Immediate Kangaroo Mother care during the media tour)
He added that babies who are with their mothers under the Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care are benefiting from exclusive breestfeeding unlike those in the nursery who are also given baby formula since their mothers have to adhere to nursery feeding times.
Dr Stevenson said investing in the IMKC also reduces pyschological stress that mothers experience when the baby is in the nursery.
"This method is not only cheaper but its so natural it allows mother and child bonding and it has long term psychological benefits for the mother as she will be with her baby all the time" he said.
Meanwhile Parirenyatwa Group of hospitals has also embarked on a one hundred thousand united states dollar paediatric theatre project in partnership with Kids OR an International Organisation .
The hospital's Head of Surgery Dr Max Dzowa said the theatre will be for children only and designed in a child friendly way in order to reduce the pyschological trauma which children face before surgery .
"Getting into surgery or hospital is a daunting task even for adults that is the reason why we have come up with the decision to design a theatre specifically for children with a child friendly environment and even the walls will have a resemblance of a kindergarten.
"The advantage of a pediatric theatre is that it helps in addressing issues of trauma which children experience when they go for surgery" said Dr Dzowa
The Head of Surgery said for now they are working on one theatre but plans are underway to set up two or three pediatric theatres.
Dr Dzowa added that they are expecting the theatre to be operational in the next four months as all the equipment needed for the setting up is available and what is only left is installation of the equipment.
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