Baby deaths shock Turkey

Ankara: Outside the Zekai Tahir Burak maternity hospital stands a bronze statue of a mother nursing a baby with an inscription from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH): "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 here 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 modernise 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 specialised 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 specialised premature birth units, and high-risk or premature babies are often transferred to larger hospitals in cities such as Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir.

The transfer and high concentration of newborns in the same place increases the risk of infections, experts say. "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."

Shortage

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 specialised 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.

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