Law

Tiny baby born weighing only 550 grams in first spring

Khanh Ly • DNUM_CJZABZCACF 07:45

Born prematurely at 24 weeks, weighing only 550 grams, no one thought the little girl with the cute nickname "Hen" could survive. However, the miracle of modern medicine, the coordination and timely care of doctors and nurses created a "miracle", the tiny baby overcame the difficult days to smile and welcome the first spring of her life.

3 months of "fighting" for life

Early Spring, visiting the family of the tiny baby in the house located deep in a small alley on Tran Hung Dao Street (Quang Trung Ward - Vinh City), we could not help but be surprised by the cuteness and adorableness of the baby sleeping soundly in the crib.

Talking to us, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1981) - mother of baby "Hen" could not hide her emotion: My baby has just been home from the hospital for more than 20 days, it's like a miracle, ladies! Because I am old, when I was admitted to the hospital, there were signs of premature birth when the baby was only a few weeks old, at home everyone had predicted and prepared for the worst case scenario, the doctor also said that it was 99% difficult to keep the baby.

Her eyes never leaving her sleeping youngest daughter, the mother of four shared, before giving birth to Hen, my husband and I had three children, the oldest in 11th grade, the middle in 8th grade and a 15-month-old; I had no idea when I was pregnant with the fourth child because I didn't have any signs of morning sickness like the previous times.

When I felt unwell, I went for an ultrasound at a private clinic and found out I was 23 weeks pregnant. I went to the hospital for a check-up and the doctor said my amniotic fluid had leaked and I had to be hospitalized immediately. When I got to the Obstetrics Department (Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital), my cervix was 4 centimeters dilated but my water had not broken yet. I had excruciating abdominal pain for several days.

At 2:00 a.m. on September 27, 2024, the water broke, the fetus was breech so one leg came out first. The doctors were on duty in the delivery room to deliver the baby and immediately intubated the baby and quickly transferred him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“My baby was born at 24 weeks, so tiny that I could hold him in my arms and weighed only 550 grams. The doctors said they had never seen a case of such low birth weight and short life like ours and said they would do their best to save him, but they could not promise anything. If he could survive the first 10 days, there would be hope. So my husband and I kept counting the days, until 10 days, 15 days, 20 days passed… with each passing moment, there was more hope.

The first week after my baby was born was the most nerve-wracking days. I was so worried that I couldn't sleep. Every day, I was allowed 15 minutes to go to the neonatal intensive care unit to visit my baby, but I could only look through the glass cage. Every time I walked, I shed tears. As I walked, I silently prayed for a miracle.

Every time I see the doctor's phone, I feel startled, worried, and restless when the doctor informs me that my child has a heart attack or has unusual signs...", Ms. Hoa shared.

After 3 months in a glass cage with a ventilator and oxygen, and with the dedicated care of doctors and nurses, the tiny daughter of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa and Mr. Nguyen Huu Binh was able to breathe on her own and leave the intensive care room to have skin-to-skin contact with her mother.

The first time she held her baby in her arms, hugging her baby, Ms. Hoa could not hold back her tears. She had given birth 3 times before but never had she felt such special emotions, everything was like a dream...

Joy broke out in the family of Ms. Hoa and Mr. Binh when the doctor announced that after monitoring the baby's health was stable and they could go home.

Because the ward had just merged, the family had to wait until after Tet to get a birth certificate and name the baby, but everyone in the family agreed to call the baby by the intimate name "Hen" with the hope that the little baby would always be obedient and healthy.

“Since coming home, my baby has been eating and sleeping well, crying less, and is in stable health…”, Ms. Hoa said. Her happy eyes, filled with maternal love when looking at her child, made us feel happy too.

The people who make “miracles”

To achieve the spectacular revival of life for baby Hen, it took months of silent fighting with much effort, patience and perseverance of doctors and nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital).

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Neonatal Intensive Care Department: This is the case of a premature baby with the smallest weight at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital that was saved. The baby was born weighing only 550 grams in a state of severe respiratory failure, unable to breathe, had to be intubated, when the mother went into labor, the Obstetrics Department requested the Neonatal Intensive Care Department to come and assist.

Receiving a 24-week-old premature baby, with underdeveloped body parts, posing many potential risks such as asphyxiation, respiratory failure, brain and lung hemorrhage, intestinal necrosis, infection, metabolic disorders, hemolytic jaundice... determined that it was very difficult and the prognosis was poor, but "there is life, there is hope", the doctors were determined to apply many synchronous measures at the same time to save the baby.

“Because of being born extremely prematurely and underweight, the patient’s condition was extremely complicated and always in critical condition. The baby was placed in an incubator, supported with ventilation by a ventilator, placed with a longline (single-lumen central venous catheter), placed with a feeding line through the umbilical vein and maintained with vasopressors. The baby was also treated for jaundice and retinopathy of prematurity. The baby also regularly underwent blood tests and X-rays to screen for diseases.

In addition, for weak, extremely low-weight infants, the treatment regimen is also 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 good weight gain during the treatment process. Compliance with the care regimen and ensuring sterility during the child's hospitalization is also strictly implemented.

"The baby was on a ventilator from September 27 to December 8, 2024, then switched to oxygen. Skin-to-skin contact with the mother was only performed after the baby could breathe and breastfeed on his own...", said Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen.

Because the baby was in the department's intensive care unit for 3 months, almost all the medical staff in the department took care of the baby and spent hours worrying about the baby's health condition, fighting for his life together. Among them, the first person to be present in the Obstetrics Department to coordinate emergency care for the baby right after birth was Dr. Ho Thao Ngoc; and the person who treated the baby the longest was young doctor Nguyen Thi Tu Anh (born in 1996).

Doctor Tu Anh said that after graduating from Hue University of Medicine, she worked at the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Although she is not married yet, after 5 years working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Department, she has become familiar with difficult cases. However, the first time she cared for and treated a premature, low-weight baby like the baby of mother Nguyen Thi Hoa, she still felt worried and pressured.

Even with many years of experience in the field of neonatology, having successfully raised many premature and low-weight babies like Dr. Truong Le Thi - Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Department, this is still a special and difficult case.

However, a miracle happened, the efforts were rewarded when after 100 days of treatment, the baby's health continued to improve every day. On January 6, 2025, joy came to Nguyen Thi Hoa's family when they received the news that the baby was stable and could be discharged home.

Under the care of doctors and nurses, the premature baby weighing only 500 grams has now reached 2.1 kg and is in stable health. According to doctors at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the baby's weight upon discharge from the hospital is almost equivalent to the corrected gestational age and is equivalent to a baby being nurtured in the mother's womb.

This is an important stepping stone to help your child develop normally like their peers. Before leaving the hospital, your child will be fully screened for hearing loss, screened for retinal disease, and scheduled for follow-up visits.

Raising a premature, underweight baby ever at the Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital brought many happy and proud feelings to the doctors and nurses. At the same time, Light up hope for mothers facing difficult births, don't be sad and give up, be determined to work with doctors and nurses to find a chance for the baby to live.

For the family of the tiny girl affectionately called “Hen”, “this year is the happiest Tet for the whole family. Thank you to the doctors and nurses who created a miracle, so that my child has the opportunity to welcome the first Spring of her life and many other Spring with lots of love…”, shared Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, mother of little Hen.

In a happy story at the beginning of Spring, the 81-year-old grandfather of the tiny girl happily asked the journalists to name the baby to commemorate the event, wishing the baby a happy and peaceful life...