Improving the survival and well-being of new-borns in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh: Kangaroo Mother Care supports the survival of low-weight and premature babies

The Primary Healthcare Center, which is sponsored by UNICEF, has just undergone an upgrade from a health post. The facility offers family planning services, screening for cases of gender-based violence, immunizations, pediatric sickness treatment, maternity and newborn care, sexual and reproductive healthcare, ante-natal and post-natal care, as well as curative care.

For caretakers and expectant or nursing mothers, there are counseling sessions available, as well as a play area for their kids. The facility currently has a Kangaroo Mother Care room, an emergency care booth, a delivery room that is fully equipped, a post-natal ward, a laboratory where tests such as ultra-sonogram support are carried out, and so on.

The Kangaroo Mother Care method often encourages breastfeeding. It facilitates early discharge and lessens the mother’s stress. The Kangaroo Mother Care approach is a secure and affordable substitute for traditional neo-natal care that can lower newborn morbidity and death and boost breastfeeding rates, especially in the first few hours after birth.

According to Dr. Mizanur, the facility’s in-charge, “We have around 45-50 deliveries here at the Primary Healthcare Centre every month and we only have one or two low birth-weight babies every three months. In such cases, our first priority is to make sure the infant does not have any breathing difficulties. Low birth-weight babies often suffer as they may have low suckling reflexes and cannot breastfeed well. There are risks of low blood sugar as well.”

He also added that, “The Kangaroo Mother Care technique we implement would not have been possible without the continuous support from UNICEF and its partners, training our staff, ensuring supplies were available and establishing this healthcare centre which was once a health post. We have been able to help the Rohingya refugee community because we are well trained for this approach,”

Source: UNICEF