I needed to contribute to research and medical literature to disseminate our experience.

Our first in-house research was an ICMR aided project on “Anthropometric measurement of newborn” – normal values from 12000 babies published in Indian Pediatrics,1972.Not being presented with good statistical analysis, the article was not noticed, even though it had potentials of being the first intrauterine growth curve of the country. We continued with basic research work for normal values like non-invasive B.P. recording of newborn….

Again it was not only first to give normal blood pressure values of newborn, use of Doppler B.P. measurement was done first time in India. Work was published in Ind.Pediat. in 1974. Even though neonatologists in India are using TPN since last few years, we in 1976 at IAP annual meeting held at Srinagar won S.T.Achar Gold Medal for our paper on “Peripheral intravenous alimentation of LBW which was again first time in India, later published in Ind.Pediat, 1977.We also developed a bedside technique of Serum Bilirubin Estimation by Transcutaneous Bilirubinometer using a drop of serum on Wharton’s blotting paper and published our results in Ind.Pediat. in 1982, again first time in India. Even though this encouraged two M.D. thesis from M.P. and Rajasthan, for some unknown reason this technique failed to catch the imagination of neonatologists in the country. May be the cost of T.C. Bilirubinometer an important factor at that point of time. My work which caught the imaginations of many was the invited article, I wrote on “Organization of Level II Care Nursery in Developing Countries, (based on my talk at the first Annual Convention of NNF in 1980) published in Indian Journal of Pediatrics in 1981.This was the first of its kind written with Indian realities based on my experience at Kasturba Hospital.Since the publication of this article I have been un-official consultant to many upcoming neonatal units in the country.

Strangely many of you realized the importance of multicentric study and talking about it since last few years. We at Kasturba Hospital started semi-multicentric studies in late sixties and real multicentric studies in early eighties. Two institutional multicentric studies on “Incidence of chromosomal aberrations in Indian newborn” and Normal serum IgM and IgG values in newborn” in association of AIIMS were carried out and both were published in Ind.J.Ped in 1968 and 1969 respectively. Four and Five institutional multicentric ICMR aide study on “Thyroid screening in new born” and WHO funded study on “Vertical transmission of hepatitis B in perinatal period” were carried out and published in Ind.J.Med.Res, 1984 and J Virology, 1988 respectively. The last two studies were on largest samples available in literature till today.

I have often wondered why some of my work did not attract type of attention it deserved and went unnoticed by younger generation whose work on such subjects get enough attention today. Was it because I was ahead of time and neonatology was practiced by fewer people at that point of time. May be it you who can decide better.