Infant Care

Infant Care: Neonatology is the medical practice of rendering special care and treatment to the critically ill, premature or newly born infants with poor health. To facilitate this special treatment for infants, Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) is maintained in hospitals dealing with woman and child care services. NICU is equipped with specialized health care professionals and the best and advance technologies of instruments and devices to meet the slightest need of the newborns.

Common diagnosis at NICUs includes Anemia, Bradycardia, Sepsis, Jaundice, Hydrocephalus, Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH), Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), Patent ductus Arteriosus (PDA), Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL), Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN), etc.

NICUs in India are carried under a 3-tier system based on weight and gestational age of neonate.

Level I care: For Neonates weighing more than 1800 grams or having gestational maturity of 34 weeks or more. This level of care includes providing basic care at birth such as provision of warmth, maintaining asepsis and promotion of breastfeeding. It can be given at home, sub-centre and primary health centre.

Level II care: For Neonates weighing 1200-1800 grams or having gestational maturity of 30–34 weeks. This level of care handled by trained nurses and paediatricians includes equipment for resuscitation, maintenance of thermoneutral environment, intravenous infusion, gavage feeding, phototherapy and exchange blood transfusion. It can be given at first referral units, district hospitals, teaching institutions and nursing homes.

Level III care: For Neonates weighing less than 1200 grams or having gestational maturity of less than 30 weeks. This level of care is handled by skilled nurses and neonatologists. It includes equipments such as centralized oxygen and suction facilities, servo-controlled incubators, vital signs monitors, transcutaneous monitors, ventilators, infusion pumps etc

There exist plenty of Hospitals with NICU in Malaysia but not all of them offers the desired services nor are equipped with the best equipments. A lot of hospitals among the hundreds still lack the quality delivery in services, maintenance and hospitality. Before rushing into any hospital in such emergency cases of child birth one must at least be aware of the basic information about the hospital and the services and facilities it offers.

There accommodates a total of 30 beds at the NICU at Manipal Hospital, Malaysia. One of the premium services the hospital offers is the transport incubators which facilitate movement of the newborn patient by road or air. The team of doctors, nurses and other concerned staffs at the NICU in Manipal Hospitals can be considered as one of the best children’s doctor in Malaysia as they consist of highly experienced and specially trained officials only. The team has acquired an outstanding reputation in the past two decades for quality clinical care, academics and research.

The other notable services provided by the NICU Manipal Hospital include:

• Conventional Ventilation for Sick Neonates
• Patient Triggered and Synchronised Ventilation
• Volume Cycle Ventilation
• High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation
• Surfactant Replacement Therapy
• Total Parental Nutrition
• CPAP
• Non-invasive Ventilation
• Nitric Oxide Therapy System

Neonatal mortality accounts for most infant mortality in India. So, it is essential for the parents giving birth of a child to precisely comprehend the basic precautions and provisions for facing the proceeding. Plus, admitting to the hospital with the finest NICU facilities is mandatory for the parents to secure the best health results of the newborn.