Children's Healthcare Foundation

She held him in her arms and rocked him gently back and forth. The little one was covered in stitches and multiple wired sensors to track his vital signs and she had to wear a protective suit to avoid infection. She is the mother of a 10-month-old baby Tanveer from Agra. While the mother held on to Tanveer, the father eagerly stepped out to talk to me. The story he told me was nothing unheard of but in all it was a story of a lot many people belonging to the section of the society that still resides in poverty and are unable to meet the basic needs of their family. Add to that, the age-old thought process that “more the kids, more income generated” which is a major roadblock in the growth of below the poverty line families.                                                ...

India is now in the top 5 worst affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dealing with the unforeseen challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people all across the world including India. With testing protocols in place, a closely monitored testing and surveillance strategy, numbers are steadily rising in India.  And during such unprecedented times of COVID-19, just like every society and country is facing challenges, so is the Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) community. It is estimated that 8 children per 1000 live births have some form of CHD. The treatment for congenital heart defects has become even more challenging with lack of transport options, significant job losses, delayed COVID-19 test results, overstretched medical staff etc. leading to logistical problems. Until now, very few children with COVID-19 have become critical or fatal cases. But this does not mean that children are completely safe, because they’re always in the vici...

A congenital heart defect is a common birth defect that affects the structure and functioning of the heart. Some congenital heart defects in children are simple (a hole in the heart) and don't need treatment, whereas others are complex malformations that may require several surgeries performed over a period of several years. All these problems can affect the breathing, feeding, and weight of the child. An infant with CHD may have the following symptoms:  ● Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) ● Cyanosis- A bluish tint to the lips, fingernails, and skin ● Shortness of breath ● Tiring quickly upon exertion ● Poor weight gain  There is no known cause of congenital heart defects but experts assume that they may occur when a mishap occurs during heart development soon after conception. Heredity, smoking, drinking alcohol during pregnancy, diabetes, certain medications, and Rubella are some of the major reasons that may result in CHDs in children.  ...

The birth of a child often brings happiness in the lives of parents as well as his near and dear ones, but this is not true for every child. This happiness is often taken away from the parents whose children are born with some birth defects such as Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).CHD is a common type of birth defect that affects the structure of a baby’s heart and how it functions. Congenital Heart Disease may vary from mild to severe and according to Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in every 4 babies born with a heart defect has a critical congenital heart defect. The kids who suffer from a critical CHD need surgery or other procedures in the first year of life.  However, one good thing related to this disease is that it can be treated, and that also in most cases for life. Sometimes the defect is diagnosed during pregnancy and it becomes easy for the doctors to treat the child. Over the past few years, the treatments and follow-up care for CHD hav...

“India has the largest share of deaths of children under the age of five. Health is improving globally, but India still has the most child deaths”.  To read more click on the link below. #SaveLittleHearts https://children-healthcare-foundation.blogspot.in/2018/04/health-is-improving-globally-but-india.html

Save Little Hearts The beauty of giving with your whole heart to our cause is that in turn, you save and make a child’s heart whole and full of life again. Just a click away, visit our GIVE page and open your heart to # SaveLittleHearts with us today! http://www.genesis-foundation.net/Give.aspx

Heart disease is the leading killer of Indian adults.  A medical worker administers polio drops to an infant at a hospital during the pulse polio immunization programme in Agartala, capital city of India's northeastern state of Tripura, January 18, 2015. The programme aims to immunize every child in the country under five years of age with the oral polio vaccine. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey (INDIA - Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY) India still has the largest share of deaths of children under the age of five, new data from the Global Burden of Disease (2016), published early on Friday morning in the medical journal Lancet, shows.The GBD is the only annual, comprehensive, peer-reviewed assessment of global trends in health, providing global and national estimates on more than 330 diseases, causes of death, and injuries in 195 countries across the world. The study is coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Seattle (USA).Mortality ra...