Worrisome newborn mortality statistics

A recent report by a humanitarian organisation, Save the Children, puts the number of newborn babies who die in Nigeria every year at about 90,000. The loss of so many babies on the day they are born is troubling. It is a damning verdict on the nation’s healthcare delivery system. The worrisome figure is, undoubtedly, partly a result of inadequate medical care for mothers and newborn babies, especially in the nation’s rural communities. In the report entitled “Surviving the First Day”, which was released as part of the events marking the 14th Annual State of the World’s Mothers’ Index, Nigeria is ranked second after India, which has over 300,000 newborn deaths a year. India leads in the ranking of 186 countries according to the number of babies who die on their first day of birth. The ranking compares the level of maternal mortality, educational status and poverty. Also, the indices of wellbeing of mothers and children in 165 countries, based on factors that range from a mother’s level of education to breastfeeding prevalence, were ranked. Nigeria does not fare well on any of these rankings. In practical terms, Save the Children foundation ranks Nigeria the “169th worst place” in the world for a baby to be born. This is an inglorious position that Nigerians and all the levels of government in the country should be ashamed of. This poor ranking is in spite of the investments and the much-touted “progress” in the reduction of maternal and child deaths every year. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, where 40 percent of first-day newborn deaths are recorded, Nigeria trails behind Chad Republic, Cote D’voire and Liberia, but is slightly ahead of Central African Republic, the Gambia, Mali and Sierra-Leone. At the bottom of the index are Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo, at 175th and 176th positions, respectively. It is disheartening that Nigeria almost always appears at the bottom rung of every human development index in the world. Though, poverty may be one of the causative factors for Nigeria’s high newborn mortality statistics as many of our pregnant women cannot afford good medical care, the situation is unacceptable. This ugly scenario should be a big challenge to government and healthcare experts. It has become more expedient now that adequate care is made available to pregnant women and newborn babies, wherever they may be in the country. The first day of life is the riskiest day of a child’s life. There should be no room for error in the quest for safe delivery. Medical experts in the country should figure out how to help newborns survive day one, in spite of the country’s peculiar health challenges. Childbirth attendants need to be trained and re-trained on how to tackle causes of newborn deaths such as birth complications, premature births and severe infections. Happily, recent medical research has given hope for survival of newborns, if close attention is paid to the factors that kill them. There are new strategies and devices for the resuscitation of the newborn; new antibiotics that help prevent umbilical cord infections and antenatal steroid injections to strengthen the lungs of preterm babies. Other factors found to be effective include early and exclusive breastfeeding, improved nutrition as well as adequate attention at birth. Experts have found that early marriage plays a role in the death of babies dying on their first day. Since many pregnant mothers are unaware of some of the possible risks that could lead to the death of their newborn babies, adequate enlightenment is necessary in both urban centres and rural communities. Overall, it is necessary to get health workers across the states to help mothers during childbirth. Nothing grieves the heart of a mother more than loss of her newborn baby. Nigeria must do all that is necessary to reduce newborn mortality.