Hospital deaths of 40 newborns shocks Turkey

Hospital deaths of 40 newborns shocks Turkey
By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press
2008-09-27
http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/hospital-deaths-of-40-newborns-
shocks/n20080927041109990002#addNewCmmnt

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Outside the Zekai Tahir Burak maternity
hospital stands a bronze statue of a mother nursing a baby with an
inscription from the Prophet Mohammed: "Paradise lies at the feet of
the mother."

In July, the Ankara facility became the scene of any parent's hell. A
total of 27 newborns died there within two weeks, most of them from
infection.

Now Turkey is reeling from a similar tragedy at another hospital,
this time in the western city of Izmir, where 13 premature babies
died last weekend within 24 hours, apparently from tainted IV
treatment.

The deaths at two of the nation's most modern maternity hospitals go
to the heart of Turkey's uncertain status as a country energetically
seeking to modernize in its bid to join the European Union - but held
back by problems associated with the developing world.

The scandals have exposed a shortfall in the number of specialized
neonatal units dealing with premature and high-risk babies as well as
a shortage of qualified staff in a country of 70 million.

Most hospitals lack specialized premature birth units, and high-risk
or premature babies are often transferred to larger hospitals in
cities like Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir. Transfers and a high
concentration of newborns in the same place increases the risk of
infections, experts say.

Most of the infants who died in the Izmir hospital had been
transferred there.

"There just isn't the facility that allows a premature baby to
survive in the hospital that it was born in," said Bedriye Yorgun,
who heads the Ankara-based Health and Social Services Workers' Union,
which advocates improved health services. "When the babies are
transferred, there is a higher chance of exposure to infection and of
spreading an infection."

The government has acknowledged a shortage and has said it plans to
increase the number of neonatal wards nationwide from the current 156
to 200 by 2010. It has also admitted to a shortage of more than 400
specialized doctors and thousands of nurses.

After the first deaths at the capital's Zekai Tahir Burak maternity
hospital, a team of government-appointed doctors said a staff
shortage had increased the risk of infection.

"There were four high-risk babies for every nurse," Dr. Fahri Ovali,
one of the doctors, told reporters.

The Izmir tragedy caused a renewed explosion of outrage in this
country where children are cherished and people will often stop to
show affection to other people's kids.

"Such shame does not exist elsewhere in the world," read a headline
in Bugun newspaper. "13 mothers' arms left empty," said Aksam
newspaper.

A preliminary investigation concluded that the infants died of a
bacterial infection spread by IV treatment. Further investigation is
under way to see how the bacteria got mixed with the intravenous
solution used to treat the infants at Izmir's Tepecik hospital. The
bodies of three of the babies, who were buried immediately after
their deaths, were exhumed to help with the investigation.

Some of the families have filed complaints against the hospital
accusing its directors of negligence. A local prosecutor has also
launched a criminal investigation into the deaths, while the main
opposition party has called for a parliamentary debate on the issue.

Izmir health department head Mehmet Ozkan said the hospital believed
the babies were not neglected. After the 13 deaths, the unit was
placed under quarantine and no new babies have been admitted.

A chief obstetrician at Etlik Zubeyde Hanim hospital said a
government decree forcing hospitals not to turn away any patients was
to blame. At the Ankara maternity hospital, some of the infants had
been doubled up in incubators because there were not enough,
officials said.

"If there are no spare incubators and you are forced to admit more
and more babies, what do you do? You have to put two babies into the
same incubator, which increases the possibility of infections," he
said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity
of the issue and because as a state-employee, he is not authorized to
speak to journalists.

Yorgun, who heads the health workers' union agreed.

"The government is telling the people that no one will be turned away
from hospitals, but it is not creating the conditions to allow
doctors to treat everyone," she said.

NOTE: This is why people need to start realizing that there isn't any
more dangerous place to have a baby than at the hospital, whether you
are in Turkey or in the US. Neonatal units need to learn from the
studies done in Brazil that found that the worst place for premature
babies is in an incubator. They need to be strapped to their mother,
underneath her clothes, getting constant skin contact and of course,
breast milk. The last thing they need is formula. For God's sake,
women, do your research. Look into home birth as an option. It's so
much safer than bringing your baby into a place full of SICK people
and thousands of strangers walking by, each with their germs. -WVNS