Pediatricians urged to support government to combat newborn jaundice

Dr Hilda Mantebea Boye, Vice President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, has urged paediatric staff to support the government in the fight against newborn jaundice.

She said they must play significant roles to ensure that no baby suffered from preventable disability or death caused by newborn jaundice in the country.

Dr Boye said this during a virtual launch of the National Newborn Jaundice Awareness Month 2021, organised by the Paediatric Society of Ghana on the theme: “Early initiation of breastfeeding keeps the yellow away”.

The programme was aimed at creating nationwide awareness on preventing disability and death in babies resulting from newborn jaundice.

Dr Boye called on the government and other stakeholders in the health sector to put in place efficient interventions that would help to improve the quality of laboratory services in health facilities to enable the right diagnoses of the disease and appealed to authorities to provide modern phototherapy equipment to health facilities to enhance service delivery and eradicate newborn jaundice in Ghana.

She urged health workers to upgrade their knowledge to increase their capacity of saving babies from the disease and should educate the public on preventive methods of newborn jaundice.

Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, Deputy Director, Family Health Division at Ghana Health Service (GHS), said “Parents should take the child into bright light at least two times a day well-spaced between six to eight hours after birth to check for the abnormal yellow colour of baby’s eyes and or skin, also check if baby’s stool colour is pale with little or no yellow (like the white clay sold in the market)”.

She advised breastfeeding mothers to pay critical attention to poor feeding, abnormal crying, fever and reduced physical activity of their babies.

Dr Sagoe-Moses urged mothers to visit the nearest health facility for assessment immediately they see such signs in their babies.