Preterm babies lives matter, support with pragmatic policies - Naa Kuorkor Mayne-Eghan

The Executive Director and founder of Jay Foundation, Naa Kuorkor Mayne-Eghan has underscored the need for stakeholders, government, and individuals to prioritise the well-being of premature babies in the country to survive their harsh conditions.

Lamenting this heart-wrenching ordeal, Naa Kuorkor indicated that preterm babies are struggling with life at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), right after birth and are in dire need of special interventions to help them thrive and survive.

Enumerating some of the ill-ladden situations that needed to be overcomed for these babies to thrive include inadequate equipment and limited space in the NICU which as a result lead to a high infection rate that leads to high mortality.

Using the foundation as the mouthpiece for preterm babies, she encouraged stakeholders and individuals to rally for unwavering support for these fragile babies because they are babies whose birth usually occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy.

She added that these babies would need specialised health personnel in the field of neonatal care at NICU to make them survive the life they're already battling with.

Naa Kuorkor called on benevolent donors, individuals, stakeholders, and government to help create an enabling environment for preterm babies to survive by providing the necessary equipment and structures needed for their survival.

Giving a clarion call on stakeholders, she urged them to come up with pragmatic policies that would favour the field of neonatal healthcare delivery across the country and address it as a public health concern.

Addressing issues of stigmatisation, she called on societies to stop pointing fingers at women who give birth prematurely by tagging them as a sign of a bad omen.

She addressed that, it was a health condition, and as such mothers with preterm babies should be given the utmost care and support to help take care of the preterm babies.

The Jay Foundation, known for its philanthropic venture for preterm babies survival, recently donated some equipment and cash payments for some mothers at the Worawora Government Hospital in the Oti Region, reiterating its commitment to fight for the survival of preterms.

Naa Kuorkor commended the indefatigable support of all healthcare workers working in the NICU to ensure the survival of preterm babies because it required special skills since these babies cannot communicate but these healthcare workers understand their dynamics.

"I urge all Ghanaians to help in their own little ways to help create a safer haven for neonates because preterms lives matter and are Ghana's next future leaders", she expressed in a plea.