FEW people have experienced the heartbreak of having their newborn infant in a critical condition in the ICU; even fewer know the hopelessness of not being able to afford the medical care that will help their children get better. Neonates Foundation of India is an NGO for babies who are in the neonatal intensive care unit and need specialized care to keep them alive and give them a good start in life. Neonates Foundation of India was founded in 2018 and since then, this Bengaluru-based NGO has helped countless families who are too poor to afford expensive ICU care for their children.
Dr. Chethana HS is the Chairperson of Neonates Foundation of India and she sheds light on the suffering endured by the mothers of the newborns in the ICU. “Only 1 out of 10 premature babies are able to make it,” she shares. “This happens due to the non-availability of NICU beds. Furthermore, parents give up because they aren’t able to afford ICU care.” For the children and their families, this NGO for babies provides three forms of care: financial assistance, connecting families to hospitals and counseling.
What makes babies lose their lives?
Babies in critical condition lose their lives each year because their families cannot afford neonatal ICU care. These conditions are often preventable and treatable and there should be no reason that, on account of finances, babies succumb to their medical conditions. This is the mission of Neonates Foundation of India whose team is passionate about helping impoverished families receive the financial and emotional support for their children who are recovering in the ICU.
The cost of treatment for one child in the neonatal ICU is between ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000. For families who are already struggling to put food on the table, this is an exorbitant amount of money that is impossible to raise, however much they try. What happens as a result is the unfortunate suffering and death of their babies. When you donate to Neonates Foundation of India, you help the NGO for babies bridge the gap between poor families in need and the expensive medical treatment that keeps their babies alive. To support Neonates Foundation of India, you can donate here.
Financial assistance
Neonates Foundation of India is an NGO for babies who are in desperate need of intensive care facilities in specialized hospitals. Dr. Chethana and Neonates Foundation of India believe that finances should never be the reason that babies live or die. The NGO ensures that impoverished and marginalized families that need ICU care for their babies have access to the funds required for their children’s medical treatment and aftercare. Neonates Foundation of India’s financial assistance covers the cost of medical treatment, tests, medication and specialized ICU care. In providing this important service, the NGO for babies ensures that infants, despite their health concerns, have a healthy start to their lives.
ICU access in hospitals
Neonates Foundation of India also helps families access accurate and high-quality medical ICU facilities within hospitals. Navigating the complex world of healthcare can often be daunting, more so when families have infants suffering with medical conditions that require hospitalization in the ICU. The NGO for babies has partnered with specialized hospitals who are fully equipped with the personnel and resources to provide top-quality medical care to infants in need. The NGO for babies has partnered with Motherhood Hospitals, Rangadore Memorial Hospital and Happy Shine Children’s Hospital in providing urgent treatment for newborn babies who are in critical condition and require specialized neonatal care.
Counseling and confidence-building
Dr. Chethana shares that for families, especially mothers, having a baby in the ICU is one of the most distressing experiences to go through. During a time when a mother should be reveling in the euphoric joys of motherhood, having to see her baby in the ICU is unbearable. Neonates Foundation of India is an NGO for babies that focuses on providing more than tangible services; the NGO offers important and much needed counseling services and confidence-building measures to provide mental and emotional support to families. In providing families with comfort through their counseling services, the NGO for babies ensures that the families have the emotional strength to endure their babies’ treatment in the neonatal ICU.
Dr. Chethana’s compassion for babies in the neonatal ICU
“It is heartbreaking to see babies succumb to their illnesses and their mothers losing their hope,” Dr. Chethana shares. The Chairperson of the NGO for babies explains that “amidst the emotional stress the mothers go through, at least the financial burden is lifted. That is why Neonates Foundation of India’s intervention focuses on financial assistance, helping families access good quality medical ICU facilities in hospitals and proper counseling and confidence building, especially for mothers.
For Dr. Chethana, the compassion and counseling given to families are just as important as the financial assistance for neonatal ICU care. According to her, “we are all together as a team” and Neonates Foundation of India is committed to helping the families with whatever service is required for the child to get the best care. “As a mother, losing a child is an irreplaceable void in her life. It’s an extremely distressing experience which no woman or mother should suffer,” Dr. Chethana explains.
“SHOULD MONEY DECIDE WHICH BABY LIVES OR DIES?”
Support this NGO for babies on Give.do
Neonates Foundation of India now needs help to continue to afford the neonatal ICU treatment for families in need. The NGO for babies is currently raising funds to support 80 mothers whose babies are fighting for their little lives in the neonatal ICU. Dr. Chethana shares that “your contribution, no matter how small or big, will make a huge difference to the lives of these little ones.” When you make a charitable donation to Neonates Foundation of India, you help Dr. Chethana and the team provide holistic care to babies in the neonatal ICU and their families. To support Neonates Foundation of India:
Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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