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23 October 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Potgieter and her team from Beanies4Babies are with women from Westerbloem retirement village, who knit the beanies and socks.

A passion for neonates, especially premature babies, led to an alumna from the University of the Free State (UFS) to co-found Beanies4Babies, an NPO  which provides knitted beanies and socks to all babies admitted to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) in public hospitals.
Dr Johané Potgieter, a first-year medical intern and co-founder of Beanies4babies, says neonates, especially premature babies, are unable to generate their own heat, and thus are dependent of additional measures to warm them. They have a larger head-to-body surface area which increases their risk for heat loss if the head is not covered. 
According to Dr Potgieter these little miracles have to use all their energy to grow stronger and fight infection instead of generating heat to prevent them from getting too cold. During her studies she was fortunate to learn vital lessons from passionate and vibrant doctors and sisters. One of them, Sr Vanessa Booysen, lit the fire in her heart for neonates, more specifically premature babies, she says.
Need to prevention hypothermia in premature babies and neonates
The dream started in 2018, when she was a 4th-year medical student, doing her first call in the NICU at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. “I noticed the need for additional measures to prevent hypothermia in neonates and was eager to actively combat it. I had an amazing idea for a new project, which sadly had little support. I shared my thoughts with my friend, now co-founder, Clarette Cronje.”
“It was challenging, everyone thought this was going to be a once-off donation. However, I knew my dream was too big for limitations like this. After numerous attempts and failures, a door finally opened to liaise with the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation. As they say: ‘Fall seven times, stand up eight’,” says Dr Potgieter. 
The NPO currently provides about 300 packages of knitted beanies and socks a month to all neonates admitted to the NICU in the public hospitals in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. 
The aim is to expand the project nationwide, and according to Dr Potgieter, they are also are launching it in January at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, where she now works. 
A need exists 
Dr Potgieter says they had always trusted and hoped for something that would change lives but had never imagined it would be on such a scale.  
“There is a need for beanies and socks for these premature babies. We come face to face with this daily and have only scratched the surface. Global statistics for premature births are one in every 10 births. National statistics are one in every seven births. 
“Premature and newborn babies cannot generate their own heat through shivering or adding additional layers of clothing to their skin. They are exposed to the surrounding air and objects, increasing their risk for heat loss. They lose a great deal of heat from their heads, making it of critical importance to cover their heads. A large number of our mothers go into premature labour, with an earlier due date than planned, arriving in an ambulance without a newborn’s clothes. So it is clear that a bigger hand is driving this project,” says Dr Potgieter. 
Also involve the elderly
Beanies4Babies not only focuses on supporting neonates, but also involves the elderly in the community who knit the products for project. “The angels at the old age homes eagerly knit away. But they need wool. Donations for wool and packaging are needed to service hospitals in three provinces (Free State, Eastern Cape and Gauteng).”
“Volunteers and financial support are also needed as operations have been scaled up to ensure efficiency.”
Says Dr Potgieter: “We are privileged to have a dynamic team of doctors, students, sisters and allied health professionals who support our project.”
Beanies4Babies now functions as one of the First 1000 days projects of the MACAH Foundation that aims to optimise the future for the young generation. 
“I am blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love and that is to make a difference.” 

News Archive

#Women'sMonth: Save the children
2017-08-10

Description: Trudi O'Neill Tags: : rotaviruses, young children, Dr Trudi O’Neill, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, vaccine 

Dr Trudi O’Neill, Senior lecturer in the Department of
Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
Photo: Anja Aucamp

Dr Trudi O’Neill, Senior lecturer in the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, is conducting research on rotavirus vaccines.

Dr O’Neill was inspired to conduct research on this issue through her fascination with the virus. “The biology of rotaviruses, especially the genome structure and the virus’ interaction with the host, is fascinating.”

“In fact, it is estimated that, globally, ALL children will be infected with rotavirus before the age of five, irrespective of their socio-economic standing. However, infants and young children in poor countries are more vulnerable due to inadequate healthcare. The WHO estimates that approximately 215 000 deaths occur each year. This roughly equates to eight Airbus A380 planes, the largest commercial carrier with a capacity of approximately 500 seats, filled with only children under the age of five, crashing each week of every year.”

Alternative to expensive medicines 
“Currently, there are two vaccines that have been licensed for global use. However, these vaccines are expensive and poor countries, where the need is the greatest, are struggling to introduce them sustainably. It is therefore appealing to study rotaviruses, as it is scientifically challenging, but could at the same time have an impact on child health,” Dr O’Neill said.

The main focus of Dr O’Neill’s research is to develop a more affordable vaccine that can promote child vaccination in countries/areas that cannot afford the current vaccines.

All about a different approach 

When asked about the most profound finding of her research, Dr O’Neill responded: “It is not so much a finding, but rather the approach. My rotavirus research group is making use of yeast as vehicle to produce a sub-unit vaccine. These microbes are attractive, as they are relatively easy to manipulate and cheap to cultivate. Downstream production costs can therefore be reduced. The system we use was developed by my colleagues, Profs Koos Albertyn and Martie Smit, and allows for the potential use of any yeast. This enables us to screen a vast number of yeasts in order to identify the best yeast producer.”

Vaccination recently acquired a bad name in the media for its adverse side effects. As researcher, Dr O’Neill has this to say: “Vaccines save lives. By vaccinating your child, you don’t just protect your own child from a potentially deadly infection, but also other children in your community that might be too young to be vaccinated or have pre-existing health problems that prevents vaccination.” 

A future without rotavirus vaccination?

Dr O’Neill believes a future without rotavirus vaccination will be a major step backwards, as the impact of rotavirus vaccines has been profound. “Studies in Mexico and Malawi actually show a reduction in deaths. A colleague in Mozambique has commented on the empty hospital beds that amazed both clinicians and scientists only one year after the introduction of the vaccine in that country. Although many parents, mostly in developed countries, don’t have to fear dehydrating diarrhoea and potential hospitalisation of their babies due to rotavirus infection anymore, such an infection could still be a death sentence in countries that have not been able to introduce the vaccine in their national vaccination programmes,” she said. 

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