Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital: Supporting premature babies at 26 weeks to develop like full-term babies

NTL and baby HD before being discharged from the hospital. Photo: Yen Hien

With the advancement of medicine, along with the skillful application of high technology, the neonatal resuscitation team and the obstetrics team ofNghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospitalhelped baby HD (child of Ms. NTL, in Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh) to be healthy, after being born prematurely at week 26, weighing only 900 grams.

Ms. NTL became pregnant after 16 years of marriage thanks to the in vitro fertilization method. Putting the safety of both mother and fetus first, Ms. L. regularly and carefully checked her pregnancy... However, on May 1, when the fetus was 26 weeks old, Ms. Ly showed signs of labor, threatening premature birth.

Recognizing the dangerous situation both mother and child were in, the family decided to take the pregnant woman NTL to the hospital.Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital- a specialized medical unit, with the coordination of 2 departments: Obstetrics and Pediatrics, to ensure support for mothers in safe labor and emergency resuscitation of children immediately after birth.

Not long after being admitted to the hospital, the mother NTL gave birth prematurely. With an extremely weak body, immediately after birth, Ms. L's baby, baby HD, was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for treatment, monitoring, and care.

BSCKII.Truong Le Thi - Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit said: "The newborn's physical condition is very weak, weighing only 900g. The baby's breathing is poor, the skin is pale, there are many bruises on the face, the lungs are poorly ventilated, the external genitalia are not fully developed, and the femoral pulse is poor. The organs in the baby's body are not fully developed, so the risk of respiratory failure, circulatory failure and infection in the patient is very high."

Understanding the longing, anxiety, and great expectations of the infertile family, the doctors and nurses at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital have tried their best to treat and care for the baby to save his life.

In the early days, HD's condition was very complicated. The baby was placed in an incubator, supported with ventilation by a ventilator, pumped with surfactant, placed on an umbilical vein and maintained with vasopressors. In addition, the baby was also treated for jaundice and retinopathy of prematurity.

For very weak and extremely low weight babies, the treatment regimen is carefully calculated including the amount of fluid, energy and milk per day depending on the weight. The baby's weight is monitored twice a week to make timely adjustments, ensuring the baby gains weight well during the treatment process. In addition, compliance with the care regimen and ensuring sterility during the baby's hospitalization is strictly implemented.

After 70 days of treatment, on July 9, 2021, baby HD was discharged from the hospital. Under the care of doctors and nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, from a premature baby weighing only 900 grams, baby HD's weight has reached 2.3 kg and his health is stable.

The baby's weight at discharge was approximately equivalent to the corrected gestational age and equivalent to a baby being nourished in the womb... This is an important stepping stone to help the baby develop normally like children of the same age. The baby was fully screened for hearing and screened for retinopathy of prematurity before discharge.

“It is not rare to be able to raise a very premature baby at 26 weeks weighing 900 grams, but not every medical facility can raise and ensure the child's quality of life later at low cost. This is one of many cases of premature babies being saved and successfully raised at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Previously, in 2018, the department also raised a 25-week-old baby with the lowest weight of only 600 grams. Currently, the baby has grown and developed normally. This is a proud achievement, affirming the professional level of the medical team at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital" - Doctor Thi shared more.

The fact that baby HD and many other premature babies were treated and cared for by Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital to develop normally clearly demonstrates the results of combining the two specialties of obstetrics and pediatrics.

In particular, for cases where pregnant women have problems during pregnancy, which pose a great risk to the fetus; cases where the newborn needs immediate assistance from a team of neonatologists... the newborn's immediate access to a team of neonatologists increases the chance of treatment for cases where the birth process is not favorable or the newborn has problems that require immediate intervention as soon as possible.

To be successful in saving the lives of premature babies, ensuring that they have a normal life after treatment, over the past time, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital has invested synchronously in both technical facilities and training of medical staff, doctors and nurses. The process of caring for premature babies is carried out systematically, combining many specialties, sciences and the support of modern equipment such as: CPAP ventilators, high-frequency ventilators, incubators...

In addition, updating expertise, applying new techniques and constantly learning to improve knowledge of the medical staff has contributed to the successful treatment of many extremely premature and extremely low birth weight babies, helping them to have stable health, creating a premise for them to develop healthily in the future./.