Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released Operational Guidelines for Planning and Implementation of Family Participatory Care (FPC) for improving newborn health.

The new guidelines have been released by the government for improving health of babies in special units across the country.

Key facts

1. The guidelines will serve as a guiding document for those intending to introduce FPC in their facility as an integral part of facility based newborn care.
2. The operational guidelines of FPC are for all stakeholders involved in the process of planning and delivering newborn care.
3. Under the guidelines—Operational Guidelines for Planning and Implementation of Family Participatory Care (FPC)—parent-attendants will be trained in newborn care through a structured programme including an audio-visual module and a training guide. The staff at a newborn care unit would provide continuous supervision and support.
4. The guidelines address various aspects of attitudes, infrastructural modifications and practice that will help in establishing FPC at Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU) such as sensitization of State and District Managers on FPC, prioritization of SNCUs for initiating FPC etc.

Background

FPC has emerged as an important concept of health care which provides for partnership between health care staff and families for care of sick newborns. Under FPC, the capacities of parents-attendants are built in newborn care through a structured training programme (audio -visual module and a training guide). The staff at newborn care unit will provide continuous supervision and support. Provisions for infrastructure and logistics strengthening required for implementing FPC are ensured in the annual state Program Implementation Plan (PIP).

Need for family participation

Sick and newborn are highly vulnerable and require careful nurturing in order to survive the neonatal period and first year of life. In recent years, health experts have found that if parents are trained during the stay of their babies in hospital to provide supportive care to sick newborns, it helps in not only improving survival of babies after discharge but also provides for psycho-social and developmental needs of the newborn.

In this regard, Family Participatory Care has emerged as an important concept of health care which provides for partnership between health care staff and families in care of sick newborns admitted in the SNCU. The move is expected to bring down infant mortality.