The birth of a newborn baby is always a thing of joy!
As paediatricians, we are privileged to share the joy with the new parents and their families.
Sometimes, however, we often have to share their pains as well if things go wrong. One of the things that can go wrong is the baby developing infections.
Infections in the newborn or what we call Neonatal Sepsis in medical jargon is one of the leading causes of deaths in the newborns.
In places like Nigeria and generally in the developing countries of the world, we tend to have a high rate of newborn deaths as high as 50 for every 1000 newborns.
That is disastrous compared to developed countries with figures in single digits. To make sure our babies live and survive, we must prevent newborn infections and treat promptly if/when they occur.
This post is based on our online Ask the Paediatricians Facebook Group Discussion by a Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, Dr Patricia Akintan on infections in the newborns.
It addresses this very important topic with emphasis on our roles as parents and caregivers.
Who is a newborn (neonate)?
A newborn is a baby less than 28 days old. Newborns are prone to infection because they have a poor body defence. Infections in the newborn can occur during pregnancy, during delivery and after delivery.
Common infections in newborn
-
Infection of eyes: pus or discharge from eye
- Boil or pus containing swelling on the body
- Infection in the blood (sepsis)
- Neonatal Tetanus
- Meningitis (infection of the brain)
What are the factors that can lead to infections in newborn?
These are important to know because most of the preventive strategies will be directed at these factors. These can be either from the mother, events that occur during the time of delivery or after the delivery
Factors in mother
- Fever in mother around time of delivery
- Painful urine in mother or mother passing urine frequently – this can be a sign of urinary tract infection in mother which she can pass to baby
- Rupture of membrane; if mother breaks her water long before baby is delivered
- Vaginal discharge in mother before delivery
- Some infections in mother e.g HIV can be passed on to the baby if mum not on treatment
Factors during delivery
- Dirty delivery area
- Using Unclean hands to deliver baby
- Unclean or dirty cloth use to receive or clean babies skin baby
- Delivering babies on the floor
- Unsterile (unclean) instruments like scissors blade etc
Factors after delivery
NOTE: The cord is the easiest route of infection.
- Poor care of the umbilical cord like the use of dirty rope or thread to tie cord.
- Use of cow dung to treat umbilical cord
- Also the use of toothpaste, Robb, mentholatum, alabukun, aboniki on the umbilical cord
- The use of charcoal or lantern Not cleaning cord well or regularly
- Poor skin care: Touching baby’s skin with dirty hands
- Allowing everybody to carry baby without washing hands
- Giving baby water or native concoction “Agbo” can cause diarrhoea
- Putting breast milk in eyes can cause an eye infection.
In the next part, we will discuss how to recognize symptoms of infections in the newborn, what to do and more importantly HOW TO PREVENT INFECTIONS in the newborns.
Keep reading and sharing this article. Together we can reduce the unnecessary deaths of our newborns.
If you have questions, drop it in the comments section or email me at dr*********@******************ns.com.