DAVANGERE: The neonatal mortality rate is still high in India at 60 for every 1,000 live births, according to senior doctors.

Banapurmutt, Nirmala Kesaree and G. Guruprasad told presspersons here on Friday that the infant mortality rate (IMR) was also high in India compared to other countries. The IMR is 60 for every 1,000 live births, they said. Premature births, birth asphyxia, respiratory diseases and septicaemia were some of the reasons for neonatal mortality in the country, the doctors said and added that apart from this, there was an absence of safe and hygienic hospitals for women to deliver babies. Even today, 70 per cent of the deliveries took place where medical facilities were absent.

The Bapuji Child Health Institute and Research Centre, Bapuji College of Nursing and National Neonatology Forum will be jointly organised the second annual State conference of neonatal nursing on Sunday at the Bapuji Child Health Institute. Dr. Guruprasad said nursing was becoming more specialised and nurses needed to have training in different fields in medicine, particularly in neo-nursing. Nursing staff in neonatal care should know how to operate incubators and other equipment. In order to educate nursing staff, the State-level conference was being organised, he said and added that the theme of the conference was "Comprehensive neonatal nursing". Experts would speak on subjects such as monitoring sick infants and respiratory distress in newborns. Shantharam Baliga (Mangalore), S.M. Dhaded (Belgaum), Devraj Raichur (Hubli)and Rathnamala T. Singh (Davangere) would deliver lectures during the conference. Over 300 nurses from different parts of the State will participate in the conference.

Shyamanur Shivashankarappa, MLA, Davangere, will inaugurate the conference.

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