BALMAISHA Foundation launched to support preterm babies and their mothers

A foundation aimed at supporting preterm babies and their mothers has been launched in Tamale to serve as a catalyst and cornerstone for mothers and families of preterm babies in the Northern Region.

Christened, 'BALMAISHA Foundation,' the Foundation seeks to provide material, financial and medical care support for preterm mothers who are on admission and their babies.

It also seeks to provide support to families with the needed education and training to help them take care of their preterm babies well.

The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Founder of the BALMAISHA Foundation, Madam Fayudatu Yakubu, in her remarks during the launch last Saturday at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, said the Foundation was named after her daughter Balma Aisha who was born a preterm baby in April 2021.

She also said the Foundation was created to bring to light the challenges mothers of preterm babies and their families go through during and after their delivery.

"Mothers of preterm babies go through a lot. I can remember when I was here myself the stress and psychological trauma you go through as a mother of a preterm baby. BALMAISHA Foundation, therefore, seeks to support these mothers," she said

Madam Fayudatu indicated that the Foundation will adopt awareness creation, women empowerment and medical support to parents of preterm babies.

She urged parents who give birth to preterm babies not to see it as punishment but rather to comply with the directives of nurses and doctors so that their babies would survive.

She also called for support from benevolent and philanthropic organisations to help the Foundation reach out to many families, especially mothers who gave birth to preterm babies.

The Head of the Paediatric and Child Health Unit at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and chairman of the launch, Professor Alhassan Abdul-Mumuni, on his part, said a preterm baby refers to a birth that occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy.

He also said an estimated 15 million babies were born too early every year. That is more than 1 in 10 babies.

Prof. Alhassan, who is also the Head of child and maternal health at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) added that in Ghana, about 128,000 babies were born preterm annually and 8,400 of them die before age five due to direct complications of prematurity.

"Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth," he said.

He lamented that the hospital was under pressure due to the increasing rate of preterm births it records daily, and appealed to other organisations that could be of support, to come to their aid.

The program analyst at The United Nations Population Fund, formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), Mr Jude Domesie, in his submissions, pledged the support of the UNFPA to the Foundation but urged them to allow honesty and transparency to be their guiding principles.

The Acting Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Mr Musah Salifu, on behalf of the hospital, expressed gratitude to the Foundation for its support of the Paediatric and Child Health Unit over years.

He also pledged the support of the hospital to the activities of the Foundation and many others who would use their facilities to reach out to many mothers and their babies.