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‘Don’t use COVID-19 as excuse to stop attending child welfare clinics’
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the rising number of cases in the country, health experts say there has been a decline in the number of nursing mothers who are supposed to attend child welfare clinics.
According to practitioners, some mothers say they fear exposing themselves and their babies to the virus, hence the slow patronage in routine services.
However, the Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Nana Okai Brako, believes mothers should not put up such excuses for themselves.
The paediatrician, speaking to The Spectator, said that different forms of post natal care remained an essential part of a child’s wellbeing, therefore, mothers should not use coronavirus as a cover up against attending child welfare clinics.
He maintained that mothers could still observe the necessary health protocols and take good care of their children in the wake of the pandemic.
Touching on jaundice as one of the common diseases in babies, he said that the disease still accounted for a chunk of out-patient admissions at the pediatrics department.
The month of May each year is set aside to create awareness on jaundice in newborn babies.
Though statistics were not readily available, Dr Brako noted that the effect of neonatal jaundice in babies could still be dire if not detected and treated early.
He explained Neonatal jaundice as the “yellowing of the eyes or the skin of a baby which is caused by increase in a substance known as “bilirubin” in the baby’s bloodstream.”
He noted that the condition occurred within the first 28 days after a baby is born, adding that, the disease had varied effects on babies, including visual and hearing impairments as well as brain disorders.
“The first two weeks is very critical when it comes to detection and treatment of neonatal jaundice and it is one of the conditions mothers must look out for,” he said.
Differences in blood group between the mother and baby, infections and the use of camphor by some mothers, he noted, were among the causes of jaundice in babies.
Dr Brako, also the Focal Person of New Born Care in the Greater Accra Region, therefore advised mothers to always bring their babies out to properly lit areas for early signs of neonatal jaundice.
He further urged mothers to ensure their children were vaccinated against preventable diseases at the hospitals and child welfare clinics.
“Mothers should try to keep their babies warm at all times and also abide by the exclusive six months breastfeeding guideline as recommended.
“Babies should only be separated from their mothers only when mothers, due to a peculiar condition, are too weak to handle them,” he stressed.
Mothers, he said, should expect that they would be admitted at the hospital when they came to hospital with signs of jaundice in their babies.
Dr Brako insisted that nursing mothers should follow appropriate safety precautions and continue to breastfeed their babies as efforts were being made to combat the pandemic.
By Ernest Nutsugah
Photos from the High-Level Event on Reparatory Justice for the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialised chattel enslavement of African people, convened at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Delivering a powerful address, President John Dramani Mahama underscored the moral urgency of confronting historical injustices and advancing a global commitment to reparatory justice.
“The entire transatlantic slave trade was designed to deny African people their humanity,” the President stated.
Highlighting the significance of ongoing international efforts, he added:“This resolution allows us, as a global community, to collectively bear witness to the plight of the 18 million men, women, and children whose homes, communities, names, families, hopes, dreams, futures, and lives were stolen from them over the course of four centuries.”
In reaffirming the enduring truth of justice, President Mahama noted:
“Just because everybody is doing something doesn’t make it right. Slavery is wrong now, and it was wrong then. For as long as Africans have been trafficked and enslaved, there have been abolitionists who have spoken up against it.”
He further called for a deeper reflection on identity and dignity:
“We must also remember to reclaim our own humanity… when we absorb too much of the language of violence and erasure, our minds become enslaved.”
A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Beatrice Siaw, has expressed mixed views about Ghana’s current leadership, saying she admires President John Dramani Mahama but is not fully satisfied with how the country is being governed.
Speaking in an interview on Metro TV on Tuesday, she said although she belongs to the NPP, she finds it difficult to criticise the President personally.
“I admire President Mahama, so it’s hard to speak against him. But I do love my party. I am impressed with the President, not necessarily impressed with how things are going” she said.
She acknowledged that the NDC has made efforts in managing the economy and improving some key indicators. She noted that the party appears determined to prove critics wrong after previously being voted out of office.
“They are trying to do a lot of things that Ghanaians thought they couldn’t do when they were in power,” she said.
However, she was quick to add that these efforts may not necessarily translate into electoral success in the next election cycle.
When asked whether the NDC’s performance could pose a strong challenge in 2028, she said she does not believe so, although she admitted there have been some improvements in certain areas.
“In some aspects, yes,” she said when asked if she had been impressed by the government’s performance.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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