Care of new-borns under the supervision of paediatricians has been the standing practice of this institution since its inception.

A. Neonatal Management : Arrangements were made for proper care from the time of birth of all new-born babies under direct guidance of the paediatric unit. These were briefly as follows :

(i) All new-borns were thoroughly examined immediately after birth and daily record was kept for each of them.

(ii) All premature babies were kept in a separate unit of the nursery called the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with arrangements for separate nursing and medical attention. The nursery which is air-conditioned, has arrangements for segregation and treatment of babies suffering from contagious diseases. All high risk babies and those delivered instrumentally or found weak due to other causes were also kept in the nursery. During the year under review 705 babies were treated in the N.I.C.U.

B. Postnatal care and follow up of Infants and Toddlers : The aim was to follow up the Infants for at least a couple of years and their illnesses were attended to in this clinic which was held on all weekdays.

A Well Baby Clinic was held on Wednesdays where the growth and development of the babies was assessed and mothers were instructed about mothercraft, e.g. feeding and management of their babies and advice was given regarding immunization with Primary Vaccination. Triple Antigen and Oral Polio Vaccine were given at special clinics held on Wednesdays and Fridays. 837 Triple Antigen (Booster dose), 674 Oral Polio Vaccines (3rd Dose), 1005 Measles and 1781 B.C.G. Vaccines were administered in the year under review.

Since 1965, sick children under the age of seven years were being treated in the department. From 1974 those under 12 years are also treated. During the year 2020-21, the number of cases treated were 7813 in the outdoor and 557 in the indoor section. The outdoor section was open on all weekdays.