Pune: The condition of a baby boy born at 25 weeks of pregnancy weighing 550 gm was extremely critical because of the prematurity and low birth weight. The 46-year-old mother had given birth to twins through IVF in a private hospital in the city.
Unfortunately, one baby did not survive, the second baby was put on life support for severe breathing difficulty due to a condition called ‘Respiratory distress syndrome’. However, after 99 days of treatment and care, the baby was finally discharged on the 100th day as its health conditions improved.
Dr Shrinivas Tambe, Consultant Neonatalogist and Paediatric Intensivist at Jupiter Hospital said it is challenging for medical and nursing staff to look after babies born at 25 weeks.
“Babies born at this gestation have very immature organs like lungs, intestine, brain and skin. Most of the complications arise due to the immaturity of organs and infection. Because of specialised medical and nursing staff, advanced equipment and parental support, we managed to discharge the baby without any major complications,” said Dr Tambe.
After the baby was born, he was immediately transferred to Jupiter Hospital in an incubator. The baby was kept on life support for the first 11 days and subsequently shifted to respiratory support called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) for a month.
Special catheters were introduced through the baby’s umbilical cord to give nutrition and monitor the baby’s blood pressure. Feeding started with mother’s milk through a 0.5 ml tube and then gradually increased to the desired amount over a period of first eight days.
During the treatment, the baby had an episode of severe infection which was immediately noted by the full-time doctors at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and treated aggressively to prevent complications. The baby also required blood transfusions for anaemia.
Dr Sachin Admuthe, Paediatrician at Jupiter Hospital said another challenge in babies born at this gestation period is bleeding in the brain, chronic lung disease and retinopathy of prematurity.
“Because of ventilation strategy, with the amount of oxygen supplied to the baby we were able to prevent these complications. Survival without these complications is extremely rare in babies born at 25 weeks of pregnancy,” said Dr Admuthe.
After 99 days of battle, the baby was discharged on the 100th day and weighs 1.67 kg during discharge. Baby will be closely monitored for growth and development.