Bhubaneswar, Aug. 30: The National Neonatal Forum organised a two-day workshop in the city to train 50 master trainers from eight states with high infant mortality rate. In these states, the concept of special newborn care is yet to gain popularity.

The workshop aimed to strengthen facility-based newborn care in states such as Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

“While more than 2.6 crore babies take birth in the country a year, more than 10 lakh die. Most of the states, except Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have failed to contain infant deaths. So, to create an urgent awareness and train the trainers, this event will help propagate simple ways such as warming techniques and breastfeeding, where each step can help reduce 20 per cent of deaths. As the number of doctors is fast reducing across the nation, we need to train nurses and health workers to learn these simple methods and even educate infants’ mothers, parents and other family members,” said Delhi-based neonatologist Ajay Gambhir, who is also the forum secretary.

“Identification of symptoms of disease in case of an infant is very important. If a family member or a health worker can do that, the child can be given medical intervention without delay. Schemes such as the Janani Surakshya Yojana and the Integrated Management of Newborn Child Illness are already there to help, but identification of the root cause is vital. That’s why the forum has formed a technical resource group for child health to prepare recommendations for the Union ministry of health,” said a forum official.

Pediatrician Asutosh Mishra of Municipal Corporation Hospital said: “Lessons of newborn care should begin at the undergraduate-level, so that the doctors can contribute more towards reducing the infant mortality rate.”