480 Newborn Deaths Recorded at Civil Hospital Mithi Over Eight Months Due to Malnutrition and Complications
MITHI: The death toll of 480 babies in Tharparkar’s Civil Hospital Mithi in eight months has raised alarm bells as official figures show.
The hospital records show that from January to August, 2,273 babies were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who were either critically ill or underweight, of whom 480 babies did not survive.
Leading causes of mortality, monthly breakdown.
The high toll of neonatal deaths is mainly attributed to severe malnutrition, low birth weight in infants and number of secondary infections, said hospital administration.
A breakdown of casualties by month shows that deaths were constant all year round:
January: 70 deaths
February: 39 deaths
March: 54 deaths
April: 47 deaths
June: 65 deaths
July: 69 deaths
August: 61 deaths
The most admissions were in May when 365 babies were admitted to the ICU.
Recoveries, Discharges, and LAMA Cases
Despite the emergency, the hospital reports that 1,387 kids made a full recovery and were released, and 106 very sick babies were referred to a higher-level healthcare service for specialist care.
Additionally, 126 children were taken away against medical advice (LAMA) by their parents due to various constraints. Health experts and local sources point out that chronic food insecurity, poverty, and early marriages are major underlying factors contributing to low birth weights and infant malnutrition in the region. Several calls to the Civil Hospital administration for further comments on the crisis were left unanswered.