Development and effects of a neonatal care unit in rural India
Sen, A.; Mahalanabis, D.; Singh, A.K.; Som, T.K.; Bandyopadhyay, S.
Lancet 366(9479): 27-28
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 1474-547X PMID: 15993227 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66823-7Document Number: 256675
This study investigated the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) before and after the establishment of a 12-bed, state-of-the-art sick newborn care unit (SNCU) in a district hospital in the rural Purulia district of West Bengal, India. NMR data obtained between September and October 2003 were used as the baseline data, because the SNCU only became fully operational starting November 2003. The two-monthly NMRs between November 2003 and February 2005 were consistently lower than the baseline data, even though many sick neonates were managed in the crowded paediatric ward by the SNCU staff. It is estimated that with the existing 12 SNCU beds, at least 270 neonatal deaths per year could be avoided in the district hospital alone, which is 7.8% of the estimated 3464 neonatal deaths per year in the district based on population, birth rate, and NMR. This could reduce the NMR of the district by 4.3%. With more SNCU beds made operational and with adequate staff in the near future, the NMR is expected to fall further.
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