Miracle! 700 gm baby born in 26th week survives

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Maternal uterine abnormality plagued a married couple planning to have a baby for many years. They had some good and bad news coming their way as they became parents of a preterm baby. “In this case, the chances of subsequent pregnancy were very bleak”, said Dr Babu S Madarkar, paediatrician, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Marathalli. “The baby girl was delivered in the 26th week of pregnancy and weighed only 700 gms.

The baby’s lungs were underdeveloped. Hence, we had to provide artificial breathing with a ventilator in addition to giving the baby special medicine for lungs to expand them,” said Dr. Babu. “The baby also had holes in the heart, which we managed medically. The baby’s intestines were also immature due to which there was extremely high risk of rupture of the intestines”.

The baby received nutrition through an artificial line placed in the umbilicus directed towards the heart for almost two months, following which actual feeds were initiated through the mouth. The blood vessels in such tiny babies are extremely fragile and result in brain bleeds. According to doctors, the baby was a real fighter as she had bleeding in the brain but survived without any surgical intervention. Throughout the long course of hospital stay, because of poor immunity which is common in small babies, the baby had bouts of infection in the blood and brain, which required antibiotics and specialized medicines like immunoglobulins. She also needed multiple blood transfusions. She was discharged after 75 days on full feed.

Dr Meghana Reddy, obstetrician and gynaecologist at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, said, “Preterm labour occurs when regular contractions result in the opening of cervix after 20 weeks of pregnancy and before 37 weeks of pregnancy. The earlier premature birth happens, the greater is the health risk for a baby. Many premature babies need special care in the neonatal intensive care unit”.

Worrying trend

City doctors say that there is a worrying trend today as there is an increase in the number of preterm/premature babies that are born. The causes for increase in preterm delivery include late marriages, increasing work-related stress, artificial modes of conception and other causes.

They also said that health conditions like diabetes, heart or kidney disease or high blood pressure records in mothers may lead to premature deliveries. Other maternal factors related to premature birth include poor nutrition, smoking and drinking during pregnancy, infections in the urinary tract and baby sacs, and also previous preterm delivery.

WHAT IS A PRETERM BABY?

Normal delivery usually occurs after a foetus completes nine months in a mother’s womb. Any baby delivered before this is called preterm delivery (less than 37 weeks). It is very rare that babies delivered at a lower gestation age of 26 weeks survive.

The challenges in saving a baby born at 26 weeks is that most of the organs like brain, heart, lung, and liver are not well developed to perform the dedicated functions of the body. Additionally, the babies will have poor immunity, low reserves of essential nutrients and minerals and are prone to infections