Thirty-three-year-old Panchavarnam Balakrishnan, hailing from Thiruverkadu, was visibly excited to know she was expecting for the second time.
In mid-March, when Ms. Panchavarnam was 25 weeks pregnant, she was admitted to Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, with abdominal pain.
A week later, she delivered a baby girl, weighing 590 g.
“The child had breathing difficulty; the baby had to be placed on ventilator. The baby needed nutrition to be given externally. Initially, the mother was weak and could give very little milk. After the 86th day, she began breastfeeding the baby,” said J. Kumudha, head of department, Neonatology, Saveetha Medical College.
Kangaroo mother care
The baby was also given Kangaroo Mother Care, that involves skin-to-skin contact.
The baby now is 102 days old and weighs 2 kg. N.M. Veeraiyan, chancellor, Saveetha University, said it was heartening to see the baby healthy.
