"I am a preterm, help me breathe. I am a preterm, keep me warm. I am a preterm, keep me clean, and feed me."

The Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono region, Dr Solomon Chemogo, put this pledge together to help demystify the issue of premature babies.

Some people in the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions have attached spiritual beliefs to babies born before their term.

Others believe they have been attacked by "asram", a local term used to refer to tiny, unhealthy babies.

According to doctors, such babies are born before their due date, especially before the 37th week, instead of the mandatory 40 weeks.

They are most vulnerable and require proper medical care to survive, but many preterm babies in the three regions are often not given the necessary care as some locals consider them outcasts.

A middle-aged woman I choose to call Afia Theresa, a native of Badu in the Tain district of the Bono region, recounted how her preterm baby died.

She said her premature baby died two weeks after birth because she was administering herbal mixtures on the baby since the community people ascribed "asram” to her predicament.

"I took seed three years ago but did not take antenatal clinic seriously.

So I delivered a preterm baby, which was much smaller than usual, and I thought it was asram,” she narrated.

According to Afia Theresa, someone cautioned her against the herbal concoctions and directed her to the hospital, but the baby could not survive after a few days at the hospital.

She further said, "I would like to advise every mother not to fall for all "asram” claims and get prompt medical attention to save innocent lives”. 

The Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital, Dr Solomon Chemogo, has been assisting his team in embarking on a massive campaign to educate mothers on proper care for preterm babies.

Dr. Chemogo recently had a preterm baby transferred to Techiman Holy Family Hospital because the Wenchi Methodist Hospital does not have a spacious facility to keep preterm babies, incubators and other equipment.

He says more premature babies could survive if individuals assisted the Wenchi Methodist Hospital with a building to house the neonatal intensive care unit.

He intimated that the challenge of inadequate space for the smooth running of the NICU is negatively affecting the survival of premature babies.

“Although the hospital has received some additional incubators from donors after JoyNews’ reports highlighting lack of incubators, the need for space to get the machines working has become another headache for us,” Dr Chemogo stated.

He said the hospital is mobilising funds for the construction of a modern NICU building which will house the babies and their mothers to prevent needless infant mortality.

The journey of a premature baby is often one step forward and two steps back, and this is why Dr Chemogo and his team are keen on helping all preterm babies to survive.