Workshop targets reducing neonatal deaths

The Health Ministry commenced a three-day neonatal workshop targeting about a dozen
specialists to help reduce deaths of newborns across the country.
Pediatrician, Dr. Youlanda Haynes, one of the facilitators, said the training programme is to help
maximise the ‘golden minute’ immediately after a child is delivered.
“This is the helping-babies-breathe-better programme, a part of helping babies survive
programme,” Dr Haynes explained.

She said the health ministry, “usually brings medical practitioners and working attendants from
the Regions so we can actually educate on neonatal resuscitation. Here we teach them the skills
and knowledge necessary for babies’ survival: not breathing or crying because during this initial
step of resuscitation which is called the golden minute. Once they implement the knowledge and
skills that we teach them in the programme, the majority of babies can be saved and this helps to
reduce neonatal mortality.”
Neonatal statistics from the central ministry of health were not accessible to the Georgetown
Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) physician. Haynes however is confident that, anecdotally
like the rest of the world, the figures in Guyana will be high too.
“This continues to be a major problem not only for Guyana but also worldwide. However, it’s
hard to say what Guyana numbers are because the Ministry usually have the records,” the GPHC
Pediatrician explained.
“For stillbirths (babies who are born dead) they are over 3 million cases annually. In addition to
that, over one million babies are born (suffering from) asphyxia, (a condition) where they don’t
breathe at birth and (their brains and other organs are) oxygen-deprived. So, you have a lot of
babies who die because of that” Dr. Haynes explained.

She said asphyxia is the third leading cause of neonatal deaths globally. Premature births
followed by severe infections are the leading causes.
“Most of our birth attendants in the interior locations are not accessible to hospital settings or
advance care settings. Those are some of the healthcare workers that we try to reach as we teach
them basic resuscitation within the first minute of life so that they can actually save these babies
in facilities where they don’t have advanced care,” Dr Haynes noted.
She said that the primary target audience is practitioners and attendants from far-flung
communities that don’t have training in advance care critical to saving the newborn.
Meanwhile co-facilitator, Registered Nurse and Midwife, Maria Francois said
Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) has the highest neonatal risks although it has the requisite
facilities.
“Georgetown Region Four is the region that we see more patients so they would be the region of
the highest risk. So even though we would be having more personnel that are skilled we face the
burden of the population,” Francos said.
Regular training programmes like the three-day workshop helps, Franswar said.