Gurgaon: Govt hospitals in the state will now be equipped with essential neonatal care machines, including radiant warmers, LED phototherapy units, and slit lamps. Although simple, these machines are critical for ensuring newborn survival during the first week of life.The decision follows a spike in infant deaths in Haryana within the first week of life, attributed largely to untreated jaundice and inadequate thermal care. According to the Sample Registration System 2022, the state’s infant mortality rate stands at 26 per 1,000 live births, climbing to 30 in rural areas while remaining at 20 in urban areas. Dr Sumita Misra, additional chief secretary for health and family welfare, approved the purchase of 140 radiant warmers at Rs 82 lakh, 60 LED phototherapy units at Rs 32 lakh, and 25 slit lamps at Rs 74 lakh. Alongside the machines, 1,575 plastic storage pallets worth around Rs 51 lakh for medicine warehouses will also be procured. Together, the machines will cost about Rs 2.3 crore. The machines will be supplied to hospitals based on delivery load and patient numbers under a 2-year rate contract that includes maintenance.Radiant warmers are used in labour rooms to keep newborns warm immediately after delivery. Doctors point out that premature and underweight babies are especially vulnerable to losing body heat, which can quickly lead to infections and other complications. Similarly, LED phototherapy units are used to treat neonatal jaundice, a common condition that appears a few days after birth. The light helps stabilise bilirubin levels safely, preventing complications such as brain damage. Doctors say timely treatment reduces the need to refer babies to bigger hospitals, sparing families the stress and cost of transfers. Slit lamps, meanwhile, are essential in eye clinics. They allow doctors to examine the eye closely and detect cataracts, infections, corneal damage, or glaucoma at an early stage. Early detection helps prevent long-term damage and avoidable vision loss.Officials said the shortage of such machines often forces families to turn to private hospitals, adding financial strain and better access to simple machines could help bring these numbers down by improving care in the crucial first week of life.Neonatal mortality is a key part of Sustainable Development Goal 3, which asks countries to bring neonatal deaths down to 12 per 1,000 live births by 2030. Haryana already saw progress, improving from 41 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013 to 28 in 2020. Also, to improve infant mortality, the Garbh-Ini initiative was introduced by the central govt in May 2015 at the Civil Hospital in Gurgaon. It initially involved a study of women who were followed from early pregnancy to delivery and postpartum. This cohort formed the foundation for Garbhini-GA2, which was developed by feeding troves of data to a machine learning tool that can read ultrasound scans.
