Doctor Tackling Infant Mortality Applauded by British Ambassador

The Facebook page of Gareth Ward, British Ambassador to Vietnam recently shared photos of the Vietnamese women who have made significant contributions to society. One of the women is doctor Tran Thi Thanh Hang, 32 years old, working at Neonatal Care Center, Vietnam National Children's Hospital and participating in activities of Newborns Vietnam (NBV).

Dr. Hang is at the meeting with Gareth Ward, British Ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: Gareth Ward's Facebook

Save a baby at 25 weeks, weigh 450 gr

Tran Thi Thanh Hang returned home to work at Vietnam National Children's hospital after graduating from a medical university in China in 2013. Learning that NBV used to work with Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children, she decided to join the organization four years ago.

“It was a big opportunity for me. In Vietnam, we mainly focus on pediatric training and pay less attention to neonatal, meanwhile, NBV wants to transfer the foundation knowledge to improve the quality of newborn care. By joining NBV, we have chances to expand our knowledge so that cooperation is a great idea. We have been studying, examining patients with the world's leading neonatal experts for two years. Moreover, we are updating and constructing treatment regimens for newborns", said Hang. At the same time, she and her colleagues in the hospital are working with NBV to build a newborn treatment network in Hanoi, where Vietnam National Children's Hospital will support the local hospitals with basic newborn care.

According to Hang, a great achievement with the experts’ support was the implementation of Kangaroo incubators 2 years ago that has helped to improve the effectiveness of treatment for premature babies. Thanks to the Kangaroo incubators, premature babies with very low birth weight can be stayed with their parents, instead of being completely isolated in an incubator as before.

Dr. Hang. Photo: Thanh Nien

“The lowest weight baby we have saved so far is Oc. He was born at over 25 weeks in November 2020, weighed 450 grams, was only as big as a wrist, and had to be hospitalized for more than 3 months. The baby's brain had not yet developed, his lungs could not breathe, and we took care of him little by little. My colleagues and I had to combine many interventions including mechanical ventilation, infection treatments, and extensive care to help him gain weight, more importantly, to develop normally without sequelae. Saving a baby's life requires the great efforts of everyone, from doctors and nurses to parents and grandparents, Hang confided.

According to Hang, about 4,000-5,000 babies are saved by her and her colleagues every year. Half of them are premature babies with diseases such as infections and asphyxiation.

Her love for children makes Hang stay on the job

Dr. Hang said that when she was at school, she used to like many jobs, and when she saw the children, she fell in love with them. She wanted to be around children. Newborn babies are not surrounded by their parents during their weakest, most fragile period of life. I feel that saving a child's life is like the baby is born again, which is very meaningful. That's the reason I have always had a passion for caring for newborns, and sticking to my job. The moment looking at the babies and their parents welcoming them home is incomparable, she said.

Tran Thi Thanh Hang has been working as a doctor for 8 years. Photo: Duong Lan

Hang said that she became a mother last year. She has been in contact with children for many years, but when she has a child, she understands their parents even more. “There is not a single day when I go back home without thinking about the hospital, asking the doctor who works the night shift how the babies are taken care of. The next morning, the first thing I do at work is to count the babies in the room, seeing if they are all there or not, because babies’ conditions change very quickly. When a child's parents tell me that their babies gain weight or breath well, I feel joy and the day is beautiful", Hang said. She revealed that she and her colleagues coordinate with NBV to build a network of hospitals in order to classify, evaluate and provide emergency treatment in a timely manner. In addition, she and the organization are raising funds to build emergency medical transportation services for newborns.

Suzanna Lubran, CEO of NBV, said that NBV is a UK-based NGO operated in Vietnam with the mission of reducing infant mortality in Southeast Asian countries, especially in Vietnam. The UK medical experts provide training to doctors, nurses, and midwives in order to improve their knowledge, thereby taking better care of babies. There are about 200 doctors and experts in the UK who come to the neonatal unit at hospitals in Vietnam, and Vietnamese doctors also go to the UK for training every year. “Dr. Hang went to the UK to work under supervision from a professor at a famous hospital in 2019. She has brought the knowledge learned in the UK to improve the quality of newborn care”, said Suzanna Lubran.

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