Kihara Level 4 Hospital in Kiambu County is celebrating its first neonatal success story, following the launch of a state-of-the-art newborn unit that is already transforming care for premature and critically ill infants.
The facility recently discharged preterm twins, born at just 28 weeks, who spent eight weeks under specialized care at the hospital’s newly established newborn unit.
Speaking during the discharge, Medical Superintendent Dr. Joseph Malingi said the unit has significantly enhanced the hospital’s capacity to manage complicated newborn cases that would previously have required referral to higher-level facilities such as Kiambu Level 5 Hospital.
“Among the new services that are available at our facility is the state-of-the-art newborn unit that has been equipped with a CPAP machine, a phototherapy machine, and also incubators,” Dr. Malingi explained.
“As of recently, we have been managing three preterms, two of whom we have just discharged after eight weeks,” he added.
The twins’ mother, Farida Nabwire, expressed gratitude to the medical team for the care she and her children received during the difficult period.
“I was admitted on March 28 as an emergency case. I was handled very well, and the children were taken to the newborn unit. My heart is full of joy. I am very grateful to the team at Kihara,” she said.
According to Angela Kinuthia, a nurse at the facility, the mother arrived at the hospital in premature labour and required immediate medical intervention.
“We welcomed Farida as our patient, as we do for all our mothers. We realized she was in labour before her term, and there was no way we could stop the labour. So we went in with a Caesarean section because of complications with her labour. The surgery was successful,” explained Kinuthia.
The twins were then admitted to the newborn unit, where they received round-the-clock monitoring and specialized neonatal care.
Consultant Pediatrician Dr. Betty Mburu attributed the success to teamwork among healthcare workers and investments made to strengthen maternal and newborn health services at the facility.
“The Governor, Dr. Kimani Wamatangi, has really supported this facility. I do not work alone. I have a great team of medical officers. This is a success story on our behalf,” she said.
Kihara Level 4 Hospital is one of the many health facilities upgraded by the county government of Kiambu to improve the quality of healthcare services.
By Rose Muthoni
