LET THE LIGHT SHINE:
NEW HOPE FOR PREM BABIES WITH JAUNDICE
APREMATURE baby with jaundice at Port Elizabeth’s Dora Nginza Hospital last week was one of the first newborns in the country to benefit from hi-tech blue LED light equipment.
Bay dietician Annatjie Smith is the volunteer for LittleBigSouls who urged medical equipment manufacturer Natus to make its first donation in South Africa to the Port Elizabeth hospital, leading to updated and more efficient treatment for prem babies with jaundice.
She said the new neoBLUE LED photo-therapy system was safer than previous equipment used, and broke down high levels of bilirubin in the blood.
“A random child was tested with the bilirubin meter to demonstrate and when they found the bilirubin was high, they could immediately place him under the newly donated lamp,” Smith said this week.
With November 17 the date that marks World Prematurity Day, Natus international regional director Dale Isacks visited the city to hand over the equipment, which was immediately put to use.
Matron Nomkhangiso Jezile was one of the first to switch on the lamp in the paediatric ward, carefully covering her newborn patient’s ears and eyes to go under the blue light in safety.
Jaundice is a condition where the whites of the eyes and the skin are yellow and is common in prem babies as the tiny livers struggle to break down excess bilirubin.
If not treated, jaundice can lead to deafness, cerebral palsy, or other forms of brain damage, so the new LED lights would help immensely, Smith said.
However, to test the blood of newborns in itself was a challenge.
“You need to prick the heel for the baseline test but their blood is so scarce,” she noted.
Smith said LittleBigSouls supported mothers and babies in several ways, including education, kangaroo care, house visits and even paying for medical care where needed. Part of its outreach is to donate equipment to hospitals, in this case made possible due to Natus.
“We met up with Natus two years ago and asked that they choose the Eastern Cape and Dora Nginza for their South African involvement. The first donation was on Friday,” said Smith, who although officially retired, still has a special interest in prem babies due to her ongoing work as a dietician.
“A lot of the mothers stop breastfeeding when they leave hospital,” she said – a concern when a baby already had a low weight due to being born early.
LittleBigSouls does not plan to stop at one blue light, added Smith, who now has her sights set on mini-earmuffs to protect sensitive newborn ears. “I said I want that for Dora!”