Neonatal care takes center stage in Bangladesh

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Chris Hoyler
  • Pacific Angel 10-3 Public Affairs
JESSORE, Bangladesh (AFNS) --  More than 15 health care providers from Bangladesh gathered at the Smiling Sun Clinic here June 12 and 13 to attend a subject matter expert exchange on neonatology as part of Operation Pacific Angel.

The exchange, led by Lt. Col. Lindy Winter, the chief of neonatology from the Naval Hospital at Camp Lester in Okinawa, Japan, also included participation from Maj. Mofazzol Hossain, a pediatrician from the Bangladesh Army.

"We're here to talk about infant mortality, the ways to reduce it and different strategies the Bangladesh people can use," Colonel Winter said. "Specifically, we're talking about neonatal resuscitation, what to do in the first minutes after birth as a way to reduce infant mortality and maybe have more babies survive."

Topics for the exchange included principles of resuscitation, initial steps in resuscitation, resuscitation devices, blood sugar management and temperature regulation. There were also hands-on demonstrations for chest compressions and other scenarios, all of which were conducted using interactive infant models and instruments.

Colonel Winter said she appreciated the opportunity to discuss different techniques and experiences with her counterparts from Bangladesh.

"There are many different topics we can look at for reducing infant mortality and ones we can have good back and forth conversation about," Colonel Winter said. "Babies that are asphyxiated, deprived of oxygen at birth, we can do a lot for them in the first few minutes. Babies that have low blood sugar levels, there's a lot of interventions that we can do for those babies. We have a lot of opportunities to improve and enhance."

Major Hossain said he was excited to put to use the information he gathered and shared during the exchange.

"If an infant can survive with good supportive care, it is a benefit for all nations," he said. "The child might be a scientist, or a genius, so a healthy baby is a good asset for the next generation."

Operation Pacific Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance operation conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility to support U.S. Pacific Command's capacity-building efforts.The program is aimed at improving military and civic cooperation between the U.S. and countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.