Coimbatore Medical College Hospital tops in SNCU survival rate among government facilities

The Special Neonatal Care Unit at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The newest patient of the very neatly maintained Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) was a newborn weighing around 800 grams, who got admitted on Tuesday. 

The baby born in the 28th week was shifted to one of the 15 ventilators in the SNCU where skilled staff attend to them round the clock under the supervision of neonatologists and paediatricians. The SNCU currently claims the highest survival rate of preterm babies and newborns that get admitted with very low birth weight (1.5 kg and below) and extremely low birth weight (1 kg and below) in government facilities in Tamil Nadu.

According to CMCH Dean A. Nirmala, a total of 2,535 newborns, including 676 babies referred from other hospitals, were admitted to the SNCU till July 31 this year and 439 of them weighed less than 1.5 kg.

Out of these, the SNCU recorded 90 % survival rate of the newborns with very low birth weight and an overall survival rate of 94%, “We get newborns weighing as low as 600 grams or even below,” says assistant professor and neonatologist V.K. Sathyan. The SNCU functioning under the Department of Paediatrics headed by professor A. Lakshmanaswamy has associate professor and paediatrician B.R. Sasikumar in the lead. Two neonatologists, one paediatrician, five postgraduate medical students and 20 staff work in shifts.

According to neonatologist P. Senthilkumar, the SNCU has achieved great results in saving preterm babies (between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation) and those below 28 weeks.

“Saving babies below 27 weeks is a challenging task and it requires further facilities,” says Dr. Senthilkumar, who is also the regional nodal officer for SNCUs in the west zone.

Mothers, who had their delivery in other government hospitals, are referred to CMCH’s SNCU due to premature birth, low birth weight and other conditions. Babies with complications are also brought to the centre from private hospitals. Apart from the expert treatment and care given by the SNCU team, breast milk from the mother’s milk bank attached to the Department also plays a vital role in saving premature and low birth rate babies.

The SNCU also gives Kangaroo mother care training to postnatal mothers which ensures skin-to-skin contact of mother and newborns. 

“Kangaroo mother care gives the right temperature to newborns, improves bonding and lactation. This also reduces infections of babies and improves their respiration and neurological development. Mothers benefit from it,” says assistant professor and paediatrician N. Karpagam.