A baby girl called Cherry, who was the smallest child born in South-East Asia weighing just 375 grams at the time of birth, was discharged with a good chance of survival from Rainbow children’s hospital in the city on Thursday. The baby weighed 1.98 kg at the time of discharge.
Cherry was just 24 weeks old when her mother Nitika, a native of Chhattisgarh, felt uneasy with pregnancy. As she had miscarriages four times earlier, Nikita and her husband Saurabh approached doctors, who, after check-ups, found little chances for baby’s survival. However, their fate changed when the couple decided to go for treatment at Rainbow hospital in Hyderabad, which had earlier saved another premature baby who weighed only 449 grams. “Till we reached Hyderabad, we were told that amniotic fluid around the baby was just not enough for her to survive inside the womb. But with the assurance of doctors here, we decided to take a leap of faith,” said Ms. Nitika. At Rainbow children’s hospital, babies born after 24 to 25 weeks of gestation have survived. The neonatology wing of the hospital assisted the mother and the newborn.
The baby girl survived even though she was born four months earlier than the expected delivery date. A multi-disciplinary team of medical experts, including obstetricians, anaesthetists, fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists led by Dinesh Kumar Chirla, director of intensive care services at Rainbow hospitals, assisted in care and delivery of the baby girl.
At a media conference held here, Ramesh Kancharla, chairman and managing director of Rainbow hospitals, said, “A dedicated and committed nursing team was instrumental in saving Cherry. The neonatal intensive care unit is the most advanced and well-equipped in the country and has the most qualified team of expert neonatologists”.
Elaborating the case, Dr. Chirla said, “The initial three to four days post-birth are very crucial as babies are most fragile during this time. And especially in this case, there were many health challenges like a drop in oxygen and blood pressure level. Owing to the size of the baby, we had to find the smallest possible breathing tube to be inserted. Moreover, the baby also had hearing problem (PDA). Fortunately for Cherry, there was no bleeding in the brain.” Five days after her birth, she started bleeding in her lungs and was shifted to a special high frequency oscillation ventilator on which she remained dependent for 105 days.
She was discharged after 128 days in the hospital. The Rainbow hospitals has saved over 5,000 pre-term babies so far.
