Artshow puts danger of premature births in spotlight

A mother's journey with her preterm baby is captured through budding artists in a series of artworks, which aim to raise awareness about problems faced by mothers and babies due to premature deliveries.
Titled "Voice of the Voiceless," the series held here recently is a collaboration between the Indian Foundation of Premature Babies (IFPB), Abbott India and the JJ School of Arts in Mumbai.
"India has about 4.2 million babies who are born premature every year. There is a lack of infrastructure in the country to give proper facilities to these babies. The challenge is to ensure that once the preterm baby is saved, they continue to have a quality life without any disability or problem in their health," says Dr Lata Bhat who heads the Department of Neonatology at Fortis Hospital.

Prematurity is said to be a leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in India. About 6 million babies are born preterm or premature globally in which one fourth is contributed by India alone. Preterm babies are those babies who are born before completing the full term of 40 weeks.
They are vulnerable to birth defects such as hearing disability, disruptive vision and cerebral palsy.
Bhat says, the idea of the exhibition was to create awareness amongst mothers since "the pain, trauma and shock of delivering a preterm neonate for a mother are immense with the baby facing problems like visual impairment, hearing impairment, and low IQ level.