Barbados not only has one of the lowest mortality rates for newborns in the Caribbean, it also has one of the best survival rates for premature babies.
Newborn intensive care specialist and head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Dr Gillian Birchwood, made that revelation during a ceremony yesterday in the NICU to commemorate World Prematurity Day (November 17).
Some of the mums and young babies attending the World Prematurity Day celebration. (Picture by Tonia Atwell)
“We have one of the best survival rates in the entire Caribbean and I think that is something that is worth celebrating for all the hard work of the staff . . . . For 2021 we had a survival rate of 99.3 per cent of all babies born in Barbados, and that is something to be really celebrated,” she said.
She praised the team for the work it did in achieving the low baby mortality rate.
“So over the past ten years, we’ve had a steady decline in our neonatal mortality rate, which is something that is to be celebrated, because we’ve had a lot of challenges along the way, which has required us to work extra hard as a team to help these babies survive.” (Nation News)