Mumbai: The malformed baby boy born to a 28-year-old Diva woman, whose abortion plea was rejected by the Supreme Court, was discharged from KEM Hospital on Saturday. The reluctant parents, who were adamant that the baby should be given up for adoption, were counselled by the doctors for several days. While the baby’s condition was stable at the time of discharge, medical experts said his life span could not be predicted due to the severe spine and brain anomalies.
Born with Arnold Chiari type II syndrome, in which the brain and the spinal cord are abnormally connected, the baby was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital after his birth on July 2. His mother, Sarika Ghatge (name changed) had approached the SC for abortion while was in 27th week of pregnancy, but her plea was rejected based on a medical opinion given by KEM doctors. The current law allows abortion of foetuses only up to 20 weeks old.
“What could we do? The doctors left us with no choice. They said a surgery or other medical intervention would not benefit the baby,” the baby’s grandfather said. In other cases, when parents abandon their babies in hospitals or a single mother gives birth, hospital authorities get the police to record the case and give such babies to adoption agencies after following due protocol. In this case, KEM doctors continued to counsel the family till they agreed to take the baby home. “Our reluctance to take the baby home is only because we don’t have resources to take care of him. I have myself raised a mentally and physically challenged son,” the grandfather said.
Babies born with such malformations may live with paraplegia, lack of bowel and bladder control and other disabilities. While timely intervention helps to a certain extent, in cases where the babies have meningocele (fluid filled sac protruding from the spinal cord) or hydrocephalus (fluid accumulation in the brain), they live with permanent disabilities.
Doctors at KEM Hospital carried out a CT scan and also took an opinion from the neurosurgery department, but experts were unanimous in their opinion that no intervention will be beneficial to the baby.
Gynaecologist Dr. Nikhil Datar, the first doctor to approach the SC in 2008 for Niketa Mehta, who wanted to medically terminate her 24-week-old pregnancy due to a foetal anomaly, hopes Ms. Ghatge’s plight will move lawmakers. “Is it unfortunate that the family will have to see the newborn suffering so much. I really hope for a positive outcome from all this,” Dr. Datar, who was involved in the Ghatge case as well, said.
