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Doctors, staff of Ho Teaching Hospital sensitise public on newborn jaundice

Doctors, nurses and staff of the Ho Teaching Hospital, on Saturday, took to the streets of the Regional Capital to educate the public on newborn jaundice.

Date Created : 6/2/2023 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Samuel Akumatey/Ghanadistricts.com

The Teaching Hospital is undertaking sensitisation and stakeholder engagements during the month, which has been designated a jaundice awareness month worldwide.

Several doctors and paediatrics specialists at the facility joined the exercise which was organised in collaboration with the Paediatric Society of Ghana, and there were also nurses, health officers and staff.

Fifth year medical students at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, the Hospital’s partner institution, and those who were undergoing clinical apprenticeships, were also in on the campaign.

The principal streets of Ho witnessed the procession blasting music and messages on newborn jaundice and bearing placards with various educative messages on the condition.

The health professional shared flyers and took pains to offer spot education on the disease, which is becoming a dilemma for all newborns, with the Volta Region recording 1238 cases in 2022.

Using various languages including the local dialects, mothers, caregivers and the entire community were educated on the disease, caused by the buildup of bilirubin in the bloodstream of the infant.

The public was educated to look out for yellowish discoloration of the eyes and skin, which were surest visible signs of the disease, and asked to seek prompt care at the hospital to prevent further complications including disability, brain damage and death.

The health campaign received a lot of patronage, as members of the public showed interest in the subject, a condition which threatened every home, dimming the joy of childbirth.

Stakeholders in the Region had been called to act on the increasing prevalence of neonatal jaundice at the launch of the Newborn Jaundice Awareness Month celebration, where it was made known that all health facilities in the region were faced with increasing frequencies of the newborn condition, and that the top ten amongst them that referred to the teaching hospital should become focus for interventions.

The road campaign called on mothers and caregivers to check for abnormal eye color within the first eight days of a newborn, while ensuring timely breastfeeding preferably every hour or two.

Caregivers were cautioned against all forms of self-medication including sunbathing, and the application of breastmilk on the yellowing eyeballs.

The use of naphthalene balls was also cautioned against, as they have been discovered to be a major cause of the disease.

The public in general were asked to be vigilant in their homes and among family members and should become advocates of the fight against the disease.

Dr. Richard Danyoh, Acting Head of Paediatrics and Allied Health at the Ho Teaching Hospital said at the end of the public campaign that the exercise had been successful, and that the response from the public had been very encouraging.

He said the campaign distributed 1,000 flyers which had been produced on sticker materials, and should be posted in homes, and public places to sustain the education.

“The public response was good. Lots of market women asked questions and we explained things to them. Some asked questions pertaining to whether witches were involved, and we helped them understand some of the causes of jaundice”

The month of May is a jaundice awareness month, and the Paediatrics and Child Health Sub-BMC lined up a series of activities, and which was climaxed with a ceremony on the 31st of the May to the memory of children who died or have been disabled by the disease.

Dr. Danyoh said an appeal had been made to the Office of the First Lady of the Republic to help the facility provide more radiotherapy machines which were in short supply, and also acquire its first TCB device for detecting the disease in newborns.