The sting of sepsis | Reality of the battles of neonatal units

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:02]The beeps that form part of the aura of neonatal units, spaces where infection prevention has become part of the daily battle.

[00:00:10]>> [snorts] >> Every hand must be sanitized, every surface cleaned, every procedure carefully controlled, and every piece of equipment sterilized. Because for babies this fragile, even the smallest infection can become life-threatening in hours and is even more of a threat for prematurely born babies. First clinical days of life due to infections are still very common.

[00:00:36]Mostly because of um especially for the premature babies because they have an immature uh immune system.

[00:00:46]Inside this neonatal intensive care unit in Makueni, babies begin life with a fight for survival. Inside units like this, infection can spread fast and turn deadly even faster.

[00:00:59]Medically, it is called neonatal sepsis, a severe bloodstream infection that rapidly overwhelms a newborn's body.

[00:01:07]According to the World Health Organization, sepsis remains one of the leading causes of newborn deaths globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries where delayed diagnosis and treatment continue to cost lives.

[00:01:22]In Kenya alone, neonatal sepsis accounts for nearly 16% of all deaths of newborns nationally and challenges in the health care system expose the vulnerabilities in ways that can cost lives. Sometimes we are we lack uh the laboratory investigations like culture, which takes a a very long time for it to to produce the the results. So, that also that prolonged time for the culture results to to come, the turnaround time, also uh causes can cause mortality because the culture results will dictate the medication that needs to be given to that baby.

[00:02:03]But the pressure inside newborn units also exposes deeper gaps in healthcare.

[00:02:08]Limited isolation spaces increase the risk of cross-infections and staffing shortages continue to overwhelm frontline workers. You find that one nurse, you could have one nurse or two nurses against 30 or 30 something babies. So, monitoring close monitoring of these babies in order to notice any deviation from normal may not be done as it's supposed to be because of the numbers. So, staffing is also another big gap in the care of these babies.

[00:02:39]Now, Makueni County is investing in specialized newborn care in an effort to reduce those deaths. The newly opened mother and child wing in facilities across the county, which includes a neonatal intensive care section, aimed at reducing congestion and improving maternal and newborn care.

[00:02:59]And amid the machines, emergency referrals, and sleepless nights, significant victories continue to emerge.

[00:03:28]Because inside this neonatal units, survival is never a guarantee. It is a blessing wrapped in the grace of working systems and able personnel who pursue victories breath by breath, hour by hour, one fragile life at a time.

[00:03:46]Ashley Atieno NTV.