Improved Survival of Non-Ventilated Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants at Madadeni Hospital; KwaZulu-Natal

Most reports of survival of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) babies focus on infants in tertiary care centres in large metropolitan areas.1-5 Extrapolating data from major centres to peripheral hospitals is problematic because of various factors; including poor socio-economic conditions; absence of intensive/special-care facilities and equipment; and limited number of staff with knowledge and skills in neonatal care in smaller hospitals.3 We were able to raise the survival rate (SR) from 21 to 40 following the use of low-cost measures between 2002 and 2005