Essential newborn care protocol launched
The Department of Health has recently launched the Essential Newborn Care Protocol aimed to significantly reduce infant deaths in the country.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III expressed his optimism that the protocol can pave the way to the reduction of neonatal deaths. “We are very positive that its adoption will directly reduce the count of newborn deaths in the country”, he said.
Essential Newborn Care is a comprehensive strategy to improve the health of the newborn through interventions before conception, during pregnancy, at and soon after birth and in the post natal period.
This protocol will focus on the first few hours of life of the newborn with the manual guiding the health workers and medical practitioners in providing evidence-based essential newborn care, said Secretary Duque.
The guidelines are categorized into to the time bound and non-time bound and unnecessary procedures. Time bound procedures should be routinely performed first which are immediate drying, skin to skin contact followed by clamping of the cord after 1-3 minutes, non-separation of the newborn from the mother and breastfeeding initiation.
Non-time bound interventions include immunizations, eye care, Vitamin K administration, weighing and washing while unnecessary procedures include routine suctioning, routine separation of newborn for observation, administration of prelacteals like glucose water or formula.
The signing of the Protocol by Secretary Duque is in line with the launching of Unang Yakap Campaign on December 7.
Meanwhile, according to health authorities, Philippines is one of the 42 countries in the world where 90% of all global deaths of under 5 year old children are accounted to.
“Childhood death rates in the country showed downward trend from 1993 to 2003, the decline slowed down in the last 10 years,” said Secretary Duque. (PIA)
