With two more deaths of infants, the toll at the district hospital, Shahdol, went up to eight on Tuesday. Deaths of infants have been reported for the last four days. The two infants who died were from Pushprajgarh and Jaithari, in Anuppur district, and had been admitted for treatment to the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) and Paediatric Intensive-Care Unit (PICU) of the Shahdol hospital.
Doctors attributed two reasons for the deaths. First, pneumonia, which caused respiratory problems in the infants. And second, inhalation of amniotic fluids by the babies.
When gasping, a baby may inhale amniotic fluids and any meconium that may be in it. The Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS) happens when a newborn has trouble breathing because meconium gets into the lungs. Meconium can make it harder to breathe because it can clog the airways, irritate the airways and injure lung tissue and block surfactant, a fatty substance that helps open the lungs after birth.
Shahdol’s chief medical and health officer, Rajesh Pandey, said, “Deaths of infants are mainly due to pneumonia and inhalation of amniotic fluids. Infants are mostly admitted after they develop respiratory problems. The deaths took place from November 27. Two of them, referred for treatment from Anuppur district, died on Monday night. The oldest of the deceased infants was four months of age. Currently, 33 children are admitted at the SNCU, while eight are being treated in the PICU.”
‘Brought in too late’
‘Infants die here as they are brought in too late from remote areas. So, we find ourselves helpless in saving the lives of these infants’
— Rajesh Pandey, Shahdol’s CMHO
Specialists called in
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has already ordered an inquiry into the deaths. The officials have been asked to find out if negligence of the medical staff was responsible for the deaths, and instructed that, if necessary, specialist doctors be sent from Jabalpur to Shahdol.
