College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. E-mail: mvatsa2001@yahoo.co.in
Nurses play a crucial role in neonatal care at all the three levels of care. Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) is the key functionary in the rural areas who is responsible for delivery of the package of services for mothers and babies at the community level, SC's and PHC's.
Nurse is the key provider for newborn babies in the secondary & tertiary care. General Nurse Midwives (GNM) care for newborns in rural as well as urban primary, secondary and tertiary care units. These nurses work at the PHCs, CHCs, FRUs and district hospitals as well as Level II and level III neonatal units in large urban and tertiary care hospitals. They look after all patients including mothers, neonates and children in health centers and general hospitals. A few Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) trained nurses are also working in some tertiary care hospitals.
Nurses conduct deliveries in PHC's and hospitals, provide essential newborn care, provide care to sick young infant, support family for breast feeding, provide Kangaroo mother care (KMC) counseling, manage LBW babies, act as trainers for ANM/HW, and as change agents for community.
Neonatal nursing is an expanding area as a result of broadening the scope of practice within the nursing profession and recognized need for better coverage in rural health services in communities. The importance of this is reflected in the fact that many of the national health goals focus on this area of nursing.
