Reunions are quite common but this 'Reunion' was a special and unique one. For the first time, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Bannerghatta Road (South Bengaluru's best destination for ICU care of newborn babies) organised a The Big Little Reunion on Saturday where the participants were those having a longer stay in the Neonatal intensive Care Unit (NICU) of RCH. Thanks to the excellent care of doctors and staff, these babies are now healthy and doing fine. These babies were accompanied by parents for this first-ever NICU Babies' Reunion.
To begin with, more than 3,000 babies treated at RCH's Neonatal ICU were welcomed by RCH staff at Trinity Hall, Taj, MG road on May 14 (Saturday). RJ Sriram performed live at the venue along with fun and games. During the programme, the Rainbow Children's Hospital's doctors introduced some of the kiddos who had a medically challenging stay at NICU and are now completely fine.
100-day stay for 500-gram warrior
One of the star attractions of the day was a 500-gram warrior. On Dec 31, 2020. The baby's mother Ms Ajitha would never have expected that she would have her new year with her son because she had just completed six months of gestation. The baby boy was delivered at barely 500 grams! But the parents decided that they would give their best. The little boy was a fighter and he defined all odds. Gradually, his lungs grew with ventilation and surfactant and his intestines matured to tolerate mother’s milk. Gradually he grew in the NICU and was a dream come true for his parents. Sadly the deadly Covid pandemic struck havoc. When the baby had gained weight of 1.2 kgs and turned two months old, his father had Covid and the baby was infected. The growing lungs of the baby were hit badly and damaged. Again the baby was in ventilation for a week. But the optimism and hope of the parents never waned and the little boy emerged victorious from Covid also. After more than 100 days of NICU stay, the little boy was back home. He has now completed his first birthday and had a brain development on par with all other kids.
Miracles Do Happen
In another case, diabetes tends to complicate pregnancy with immature lungs and a gamut of other newborn complications. Ms Padmashree had diabetes from childhood and her pregnancy was quite stormy. But by sheer will she carried her pregnancy till 36 weeks. Unfortunately at nine months, the baby had to be delivered. Sadly, the baby did not cry at birth-a condition called birth asphyxia. The baby was immediately put on an artificial ventilator. The first cry of the baby is important to provide oxygen to the brain. Any baby who does not cry at birth may have long term brain development complications (cerebral palsy). But the mother felt that her daughter is a miracle and she will be fine. The baby was started on a novel therapy- THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA (WHOLE BODY COOLING). This protects the brain and reduces brain damage. But this therapy has to be done with utmost precision and the whole body temp has to be maintained at 33.5 degree C for 72 hours. As her mother felt her daughter safely underwent therapeutic cooling and had intact brain development and went home safely. Her mom was right-“MIRACLES DO HAPPEN”. This little one is now perfectly fine and was cheered by the audience during the reunion.
Premature Babies during Pandemic
During the second wave of the COVID pandemic, many pregnant mothers had COVID infections which resulted in premature birth of the babies. "At the NICU in Rainbow Children's Hospital, we had 14 premature babies less than 1.5kgs with the smallest baby weighing 900gms. With prematurity along with COVID infection the lungs were poorly developed requiring complicated ventilation with surfactant administration. At RCH, we believe that mothers and the baby should be together at the earliest. Once the mother was symptom free, she was encouraged to spend time with the baby in a separate isolation room without spreading infection to the other babies. During the pandemic, all the premature babies were discharged safely. The gentleness of the care and the family centric approach is a must for the neurodevelopment of the baby. Sadly two mothers were lost due to COVID related complications but the premature babies survived to provide hope to their families. These small babies proved that Humanity survives despite all odds”, said doctors from RCH.
NICU DIARY – STORIES OF HOPE
Dr Prakash Vemagal (Director of Pediatrics & Neonatology department at Rainbow Children's Hospital, Bannerghatta road) said, " The neonatal ICU at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Bannerghatta Road is a tertiary level III A(NNF accredited ) unit which has treated more than 3,000 complicated newborn babies in the last few years. These newborn babies have normal brain development potential over the long term which gives hope to future parents that with the right care even the most complicated newborn illnesses can be overcome."
Dr. Saravanan R (Consultant Neonatologist, RCH Bannergatta road said, "The newborn care- in our unit is FAMILY CENTRIC with emphasis on maximising the brain development potential of these growing babies." Rainbow Children's Hospital Vice-President and Cluster Head Mr Akshay Oleti said, "Neonatology has improved by leaps and bounds in the last decade. The responsibility of neonatologists nowadays does not end with just saving the baby but also we have to ensure maximum brain development potential. Three concepts have revolutionized newborn care-gentle ventilation with surfactant (medicines to keep the lungs open), early breast milk feeding with injectable protein and fats (parenteral nutrition) and strict infection control policies. The newborn babies have normal brain development potential over the long term which gives hope to future parents that with the right care even the most complicated newborn illnesses can be overcome." The NICU clinical team includes senior consultants Dr Chirag & Dr Shweta. All the doctors are employed exclusively to offer complete care to patients.
-min.png)