By Sola Ogundipe
Early intervention and how quickly babies can access facilities equipped to provide specialised newborn care can mean the difference between life and death, particularly for babies born prematurely or with serious medical complications.
The warning is particularly significant in Nigeria, where newborn survival remains a major public health challenge. UNICEF’s latest country data puts Nigeria’s neonatal mortality rate at about 39 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the under-five mortality rate is about 116 deaths per 1,000 live births.
A neonatologist, Dr. Adegbajo Odedina, who made the call in Lagos, said timely and intensified antenatal care, skilled delivery, specialised neonatal services and simple, low-cost interventions were crucial to saving premature babies.
Odedina, who isthe Chief Medical Director of Haven Pediatrics, said sustained early intervention and improved access to neonatal intensive care could significantly improve the chances of survival for premature and critically ill newborns.
He explained that while not every premature birth could be prevented, measures exist that can reduce the risk and improve survival.
“Working with about 15 HMOs, we operate a state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), equipped to care for babies born from as early as 26 weeks of pregnancy and staffed by neonatologists and other trained professionals.
“Early diagnosis and treatment save lives. The earlier the child gets to us, the better the chances because we have skilled professionals, the equipment and a lot of support,” he said.
Odedina said the health facility had registered more than 1,500 patients and was treating children with a wide range of conditions beyond prematurity.
“We see many children with behavioural disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. We also have children with diabetes, growth problems, holes in the heart and seizures,” he said.
He said the government alone could not address all of the country’s healthcare challenges, stressing the need for collaboration with private healthcare providers.
“The government cannot solve everything. We are here to support whatever the government is doing and provide solutions,” he said.
According to him, the broader issue is ensuring that parents recognise danger signs, seek care early and understand that premature birth is not necessarily a death sentence.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says about three-quarters of deaths associated with preterm birth could be prevented with existing, cost-effective interventions.
UNICEF also identifies prematurity, birth complications and infections among the major contributors to newborn deaths in Nigeria.
Odedina said early care could significantly change outcomes for premature babies, stressing that measures such as antenatal care beginning before 12 weeks of pregnancy, identifying pregnancy risks and delivering in facilities with appropriate newborn care and trained personnel were critical to reducing risks and improving survival.
“This makes the fight against premature newborn deaths less a question of whether solutions exist and more a question of whether those solutions reach the babies and families who need them in time,” Odedina said.
“Parents need to recognise warning signs, seek medical attention early and understand that premature birth does not automatically mean a poor outcome.
“Nigeria’s newborn survival challenge will not be solved by one hospital or one intervention. It will require stronger antenatal care, safer deliveries, better-equipped neonatal units, trained health workers and, critically, a system that gets vulnerable babies into appropriate care quickly.
“The solutions are largely known. The challenge is making sure they reach premature babies in time,” he said.
