The medical director at St. Tereza Mission Hospital in Nzara County, Western Equatoria State, has said that cases of premature births continue to rise at the hospital.
According to Dr. Maad Top Kuichuluoch Jal, between June and September, the hospital registered 57 cases of premature babies out of which 10 died.
While speaking at the launch of a Neonatal Care Unit on Friday at St Tereza Mission Hospital, Dr. Top said women who deliver premature babies come from Nzara and surrounding areas and Yambio County. He said those who give birth to premature babies are mostly young mothers averagely aged 15 because their bodies are not fully developed to conceive.
“The major causes of low birth weight and premature births are attributed to young mothers who conceive at an early age and develop the tendency of giving birth before time because their bodies are not fully developed,” he explained.
The Neonatal Health Care Unit is where babies born prematurely with low birth weight and other medical conditions are admitted.
“The unit was established in June and has been equipped with two incubators through a partnership with the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) sent volunteers to establish the unit and train some midwives to run it,” Dr. Top said,
For his part, the director general at the Western Equatoria State health ministry, Rose Obede, commended St Tereza Mission Hospital for opening the new healthcare unit.
“Now that Nzara is closing all the gaps that can bring health problems, we are thinking of increasing the number of doctors and nurses to help,” she said.
For his part, the deputy director of the Catholic Organization for Peace and Development (CODEP), David Ngbaanisa Ariyo, acknowledged the state ministry of health for always standing firm with St. Tereza Mission Hospital.
“This hospital is doing a lot and is now the icon that all of us have hope in and if somebody is sick, this is where we come,” he said.