Neelam Kler is an Indian neonatologist, known for her pioneering work on neonatal intensive care and ventilation. She is credited with developing neonatal care to better the survival rate of extremely tiny

preterm babies Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

(less than 1000 grams) to 90 per cent. The Government of India honoured her with the third-highest civilian award,

Padmabhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service o ...

, in 2014, for her services to the fields of medicine and

neonatology Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The ...

Biography

Neelam Kler was born in Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, and had her schooling in the Presentation Convent School in Srinagar. Opting for the medical profession, she obtained a master's degree in Paediatrics from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, (PIGMER) Chandigarh and continued there for further training in neonatology. Later, she went to Copenhagen, Denmark, on a fellowship in neonatology from the Copenhagen University for advanced studies on the subject.

Professional career

After returning from Copenhagen, Kler started her professional career in India by joining Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, on 31 May 1988. During a career spanning 26 years, Kler launched the department of neonatology at the hospital, presently holding the position of the Chairperson. She has also worked as a visiting consultant at King Fahd University Hospital, Gizan, Saudi Arabia, and as a fellow in neonatology at the Milwaukee Children Hospital, Wisconsin, USA. Presently she holds the following offices: * President of the National Neonatology Forum. * Advisor on CNAG (Cell of Nutrition Advisory Group) on line service on Nutrition queries. * Editor -Journal of Neonatology'' a quarterly journal published by National Neonatology Forum. * Organising Chairperson of FAOPS (Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies) 2010 * Member – WHO Expert Committee on prevention of birth defects in South East Asia. * Master trainer,

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

– Baby's Breath assistance. * Member – ''Global Neonatal Nutrition Consensus Group'' for the development of international guidelines on feeding the preterm infants She has, at various points, collaborated with

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

, and World Health Organization, on various matters related to neonatological care. She is also a panel member of the ''Newborn and child health strategy'' of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. On the social front, Dr. Kler chairs the ''Health Care'' a
ALL Ladies League

Legacy

Neelam Kler is known for the development of neonatal care, especially the care of

, and is considered a pioneer in intensive care and ventilation. She is credited with developing the department of neonatology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi to a state of the art facility with modern high frequency ventilation with

Nitric Oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...

delivery and bedside cerebral function monitoring. Statistical data has shown that, under Dr. Kler, the survival rate of preterm babies, weighing less than 1000 grams, have improved to 90 per cent and the infection rate was brought down to 9.8 per 1000 inpatients. She has also contributed in initiating a three-year doctoral program in neonatology by the National Board of Examinations.

Awards and recognitions

– 2014 – the sole recipient for ''medicine category'' to be awarded in 2014.

Publications

Neelam Kler has published several articles in national and international books on paediatrics, some of them are: * ''Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS)'', in collaboration with Pankaj Garg, in ''Recent Advances in Paediatrics'' * ''Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Late Preterm and Term infants with Severe Jaundice'' with Satish Saluja, Asha Agarwal and Sanjiv Amin * ''Chapter 011 Follow-up of Preterm Baby'' with Anita Singh * ''Chapter-004 Parenteral Nutrition in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit'' with Choudhury Vivek and Navin Gupta * ''Chapter-62 Neonatal Transport'' with Sony Arun and Navin Gupta * ''Chapter-005 Parenteral Nutrition in Newborn'' with Sony Arun * ''Chapter-64 Neonatal Respiratory Disorders'' with Sony Arun and Satish Saluja * ''Selected Macro/Micronutrient Needs of the Routine Preterm Infant'' with Jatinder Bhatia, Ian Griffin, Diane Anderson, and Magnus Domelleof

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kler, Neelam Living people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine People from Srinagar Indian neonatologists Family and parenting writers Child care Medical doctors from Jammu and Kashmir Indian women medical doctors 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian medical doctors Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century women physicians