THE Guyana Help the Kids (GHTK) organisation, a Canadian charity, recently donated eight electronic fetal monitors to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to better enable doctors and nurses to examine pregnant women and their babies.

A statement released by the hospital said that the monitors which cost approximately $3.6M will be used to detect if fetuses have normal heart rate patterns during the last few months of pregnancy or during labor.

Monitoring a baby’s heart rate is integral to the process of a successful delivery since this allows doctors to recognise if there are any complications developing during pregnancy and also to determine whether a baby should be delivered early vaginally or through an emergency cesarean section.

Training sessions for doctors and nurses on how to properly use the machines are ongoing.
There have been a number of collaborations between GPHC and GHTK over the last few years, specifically in the obstetric department.

Previously, GHTK started a programme to train Guyanese doctors to become pediatricians as well as a programme to train nurses to specialise in caring for neonates and newborn babies. These programmes are still continuing.
The GPHC receives all women with high risk obstetric pregnancies from across the country, with over 8,000 admissions per year and 5,500 deliveries. GHTK is a registered Canadian charity with the goal of decreasing neonatal and infant mortality in developing countries, particularly in Guyana.