CDO hospital opens 'kangaroo' unit for premature births

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1050970
• Wednesday, October 17, 2018

By Ercel Maandig (PNA)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Justiniano R. Borja General Hospital (JRBGH) here on Friday opened its "Kangaroo Mother Care Unit" for premature newborns.

Dr. Ramon Nery, JRBGH chief, said the new unit is intended to give a "dedicated care" to premature newborn children without being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which usually are mixed with adult patients.

Nery said mothers are allowed to caress and breastfeed their premature newborns, just like a mother kangaroo would.

“A mother kangaroo keeps its baby in a pouch when it is born. The baby kangaroo is protected, fed and brought anywhere the mother goes in its pouch until it is ready to fend for itself,” Nery said.

With its construction partly funded by the Kagay-anons of Northern California, the new kangaroo mother care unit of the city government-operated hospital has beds made up and ready for occupancy.

Nery said the kangaroo mother care unit aims to prevent infant mortality and morbidity in Cagayan de Oro City among premature newborns.

He added that premature newborns in the city have a very low rate, with only nine out of 5,193 births from January to September this year.

The services of the kangaroo unit are free. Those who gave birth in the city hospital will be given priority.

Luzviminda Subanpan, 43, a mother who recently gave birth, said she is happy with this development.

Subanpan said she lost a prematurely-born baby boy nine years ago.