VIJAYAWADA: A 28-bed Mother and Neonatal Care Unit (MNCU), constructed at an estimated cost of `1 crore, will come into operation at the Mother and Child block in the old Government General hospital (GGH) in the city soon.
According to old GGH officials, specialist doctors have been appointed and the ward was set up at the paediatrics wing of the hospital.
Babies born with low weight will be first treated in the SNCU (Special Newborn Care Unit) and transferred to the MNCU after a short recovery. Here the doctors will treat the babies and mothers will be allowed to stay in the ward.
If the mothers need medical care, they will be provided treatment here. On an average, 35 to 40 women are admitted to the hospital per day for delivery. Old GGH has the highest number of deliveries in the district.
Apart from the district, regular and high-risk pregnant women from Guntur and West Godavari districts also come here for delivery. If a baby is underweight and has complications, the baby will be treated at the MNCU.
Hospital Superintendent Y Kiran Kumar said that at present 45 babies can receive treatment at a time without any hassle at the SNCU available at the hospital. Once the MNCU comes into operation, better treatment services will be available for both mother and child. “Newborn infants after being treated at the SNCU should be kept under the observation of the doctors. On an average 1,100 deliveries are being conducted at the hospital per month and the number may increase by 200-300 once the MNCU comes to operation,” Kiran Kumar said.