Mohali: The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team at Shalby Hospital, Mohali, has successfully treated a premature baby girl born at a gestational age of just 29 weeks and weighing a mere 850 grams.
Dr. Amit Nagpal, who led the NICU team, explained that the mother—who was seven months pregnant and had a history of three previous miscarriages—was admitted with severe preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a life-threatening condition in which blood pressure rises to dangerously high levels, posing a grave risk to both the mother and the baby. He noted that due to uncontrolled hypertension, the medical team performed an emergency Lower Segment Cesarean Section (LSCS) to ensure the safety of both individuals.
At birth, the newborn experienced severe respiratory distress and required immediate admission to the NICU. She was placed on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) support and managed according to established protocols for premature births and Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) infants.
Dr. Nagpal further detailed that during her hospital stay, the infant faced several complications, including breathing difficulties resulting from prematurity, persistent respiratory issues, septicemia, difficulty digesting food, and neonatal jaundice.
Senior Gynecologist Dr. Balveen Kaur Ghai stated, “The baby’s condition gradually improved throughout the course of treatment. Nutritional support was initiated via tube feeding, followed by spoon-feeding, and finally progressed to direct breastfeeding. After 8 weeks of intensive care in the NICU and consistent weight gain, the baby was discharged from the hospital in a stable condition.”