From innovation to impact: Strengthening India's response to neonatal care

Preterm complications are the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the country and contribute to lifelong health challenges, including respiratory illness, developmental delays, and sensory impairments. Atul Chadha, Business Head - South Asia (PCS), Growth & Opportunity Driver, Digital Healthcare, GE HealthCare in an interaction with Express Healthcare talks about the medical challenges of premature babies and GE HealthCare's neonatal care solutions

- Atul Chadha

With India accounting for over one-fifth of the world's preterm births, why is this such a critical healthcare concern, and what significant challenges are adding to the burden?

India faces the highest burden of preterm births globally, with more than 3 million babies born prematurely each year. Preterm complications are the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the country and contribute to lifelong health challenges, including respiratory illness, developmental delays, and sensory impairments.

The causes are complex and interlinked—maternal anaemia, hypertension, infections, inadequate nutrition, and adolescent pregnancies are common risk factors, compounded by environmental issues such as air pollution and poor sanitation. These medical and social determinants are intensified by systemic healthcare gaps. Access to timely prenatal care, skilled obstetric intervention, and advanced neonatal intensive care remains uneven, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas where specialised infrastructure and trained personnel are limited.

The magnitude of the challenge necessitates deployment of advanced solutions to strengthen the entire continuum of care—from pregnancy to postnatal support. GE HealthCare's maternal-infant care portfolio, including advanced maternal and fetal monitoring systems, scalable neonatal technologies, and AI-enabled decision-support tools, is designed to help clinicians detect complications early, manage high-risk pregnancies, and deliver quality neonatal care. This holistic approach supports improved survival rates and healthier outcomes for preterm infants nationwide.

GE HealthCare's neonatal care solutions are designed to meet the complex and evolving demands of preterm and vulnerable newborns, while also addressing key neonatal care challenges in India, such as uneven infrastructure, high patient volumes, and resource constraints in smaller hospitals