Most of the children who are born prematurely in Moldova receive medical care at the Mother and Child Institute. The babies born starting with the 22nd week and with the smallest weight (of even less than 500 grams) are cared for at the Newborns Reanimation and Intensive Care Unit. The smallest baby in the Unit now weighs 878 grams and was born at 27 weeks, says an article published by the Ministry of Health today, on the occasion of World Prematurity Day, IPN reports.

Inna Sîrghe, neonatologist-reanimatologist at the Mother and Child Institute, said that most of the preterm babies admitted to the Reanimation and Intensive Care Unit are in a serious and extremely serious state. They are in need of reanimation, examination and treatment. The Unit was recently outfitted with modern medical devices, such as mechanical ventilators, incubators, phototherapy lamps, radiant tables and other equipment needed to provide the necessary medical care and ensure favorable conditions for the development of babies.

The premature babies need not only medical care, but also the parents’ care. “Mothers can stay by their children in our ward. We encourage them to come every three hours and to stay by their babies for 10-15 minutes, to talk to them, to feed them with breast milk, to touch them and to keep them in their arms, offering them warmth. The children feel their mothers, hear their moves. We urge them to have only good thoughts while they are near their children,” said Inna Sîrghe.

All the children born before 37 weeks are considered preterm. Medical assistance at the Mother and Child Institute is offered annually to almost 700 preterm babies. In 2021, 1,841 children were born prematurely in Moldova, according to the National Public Health Agency.