Bhopal: A government hospital in the tribal-dominated Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh witnessed the death of 36 infants in August this year.
Officials of the district’s health department however described the number of newborn deaths in the hospital as “normal” when compared to the total number of sick infants admitted at the hospital”.
“A total of 195 infants were admitted in the Special Newborn Care Unit in the district hospital in Shahdol in August this year. Out of them, 36 children had died due to multiple reasons such as low weight at the time of birth, premature births and other serious pre and post natal ailments,” chief district medical officer of Shahdol, Dr Rajesh Pandey, told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“The infant death figure (in a month) is normal considering number of newborns admitted at the hospital. The death figure has come down in the later part of the month,” he added.
However, hospital sources said lack of basic infrastructure particularly the life-saving ventilator facility in the SNCU has contributed to the infant mortality at the hospital which is also the lone government health centre for newborns in the district.
Sources said, the district has a total population of around 10.66 lakh, nearly 80 per cent of whom are tribals.
