Last night, we told you about a pair of disturbing cases in which two
one year olds died from conditions related to neglect and malnutrition. The
reality is that many mothers of young children especially in rural and remote
areas live in unhealthy environments and are financially unable to give the
care their babies need. In the case of one year old Dalissa Chable of San Roman
Village she developed a serious skin disease likely caused by poor hygiene.
On Friday her mother rushed her to the Corozal Hospital but it was too late.
The other case was in Independence Village where Charlin Galvez Diaz,
died, after basically choking on worms that were blocking her respiratory tract.
Again it is believed that if Baby Diaz had received regular medical check ups
she would still be alive today. Today 7NEWS spoke with the Maternal Child Health
Care Senior Public Health Nurse Sharon Cooper Espinoza about the infant deaths.
Nurse Espinoza knew only what she has heard in the news but told us that the
Ministry of Health has a very comprehensive maternal child health care programme
– which includes education for young mothers.
Sharon Cooper Espinoza, Senior Public Health Nurse
“We look at the child from birth right up to five years. During that
period we look at the child’s immunization, ensure that the child receives
all the immunization he or she is supposed to get. We also look at the nutritional
aspect. Each time the child comes to clinic we check the weight, we check the
height to make sure this child is growing well, we give advice to the mothers
on feeding, on portions, what to give, healthy foods, and whenever we would
detect any problem with the child’s weight, we immediately refer. We also
go into the homes to see the home situation because there are times when these
mothers, they really try but when you get into the home you see the reality.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Nurse Espinoza I know you cannot speak specifically about the case in Corozal
and the one in Independence but after hearing the report, what disturbed you
about it?1
Sharon Cooper Espinoza,
“It is disturbing Jackie in this day and age where we have children
dying from malnutrition. As I said the social aspect from the Ministry of Health
really needs to be looked into. As I said before there are a lot of people out
there really struggling and we need to identify and to help those persons.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So presently what is done for a mom who is poor and cannot afford the healthcare
that she needs for her kids? What is done in that case?
Sharon Cooper Espinoza,
“Well I can only say that we do referrals to the Department of Human
Services. That basically is as far as we go and then they take it from there.
The reality here in Belize is that we definitely need a better social program
in which mothers who are in this situation, finding it financially challenging
for them to be assisted. It is difficult for people to find money to buy one
pack of bread which is basically like $1.50. And another thing we do Jackie,
we encourage those mothers who have these children to breast feed. Breastfeeding
is key, it is very important from birth to six months. We expect our mothers
ton breastfeed exclusively up to six months. After six months is where the challenge
comes in. Along with the breastfeeding they need to give other foods, other
healthy foods, and this is where our mothers find it sometime a bit challenging.”
Although the Ministry of Health provides a comprehensive maternal child
health care programme not all mothers access the services provided to them and
it is then difficult to keep a record of those cases. Presently the Maternal
Child Health Care Centre is conducting training in integrated management of
childhood illnesses, including malnutrition.
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