Doctors at Howard Newborn Centre hospital in Malad hail resilience of infant who is discharged from NICU after 45 days, cautions that road ahead must be tread carefully
Asmita More with her baby at their home. To Asmita’s right (red T-shirt) is her husband, Ganesh, and to her left (white T-shirt) is his cousin, Sagar. PICS/KIRTI SURVE PARADE
The Juhu-based More family’s baby boy, who was in dire need of intensive care since birth, has finally been discharged from the hospital and is now safely back home. The long-awaited moment was filled with tears of joy, relief, and gratitude as the family, who had been living in and out of hospital corridors for over six weeks, finally welcomed their little one into the warmth of their home. Though the infant’s recovery marks the end of an intense medical chapter, it is also the beginning of a carefully planned year-long journey of post-hospital care. “He’s a fighter,” a doctor said, adding that the baby’s resilience and the unwavering commitment of the medical team of Howard Newborn Centre in Malad played a crucial role in his survival.
Moment of hope
The doctors stated that confidence in medicine increased, and the turning point came almost in the fourth week of his stay, when the baby’s vital signs began showing consistent improvement. “He began responding strongly by breathing on his own. His weight started to increase, and the quantity of his food intake also improved. And this showed that he is on the winning side of the battle,” said the doctor, adding that the baby was given polio drops, the hepatitis B and BCG vaccines before being discharged. “Generally, these vaccines are given within two to three days of birth. But in his case, we had to wait. However, there won’t be any health issues because of this delay. The only thing to be careful about is that he is prone to infections, and his immunity will need to be boosted a lot.”
The road ahead
While the discharge has brought immense relief to the family, doctors have stressed that the coming year will be crucial for the baby’s continued development and immunity. The parents have been given a comprehensive care plan that includes multiple follow-up appointments with respect to his weight checking, body check-ups, and organ growth, to name a few. “The baby’s weight as of Tuesday, August 12, [at the time of discharge] is 1999 gm. We have asked them to visit after two days and also when the baby weighs approximately 2.5 kg. After that, they will have to visit the eye specialist after four weeks, and in this way, there will be continued monitoring at least for a year,” said the doctor.
A relative of the Mores performs an aarti to welcome Baby More home
She also mentioned that the baby has a swelling in his brain, which needs to be checked. “He has the swelling from the time of his birth. Now we cannot say if it is benign or dangerous. We will have to conduct a repeat sonography and an MRI to confirm the same. But that can be done only after three to four months as the baby will have to be sedated for the same, and the sedation can have an impact on the body,” she added.
The family has also been educated on early warning signs of complications and trained on home care protocols to avoid unnecessary hospital visits. The child’s mother, Asmita, said, “They have told me how to sterilise all utensils, and how to take care of sanitation. They have also told us that we cannot use any oil, kajal or talcum powder and cannot bathe or massage him till the doctors allow us to do so. We have been told that we should only do sponging till then.”
Temperature adjustment
Considering that the baby was kept in the NICU since he was born, the parents were worried about how he would adjust to room temperature. “When we used to enter the NICU, it used to be very cold. Though he was out of the incubator for over 24 hours and the doctors told us that the temperature inside the NICU is regulated as per the outside temperature, there won’t be any problem for him to adjust at home. But the doctors have told us that we cannot switch on the fan or cooler when we change his clothes or when his body is bare for any reason. Also, we have been instructed that direct air flow from the cooler or fan should not reach him,” said Ganesh, the baby’s father.
A teary-eyed reunion
The baby’s grandfather, uncle and aunt were overwhelmed and couldn’t stop their tears as they held him in their arms after welcoming the parents and child at home. “We know that the battle is not over. But we are happy that he is home, and we have achieved at least half of the goal,” said Sagar More, the baby’s uncle. Meenakshi More, the baby’s aunt, added, “From his birth to his homecoming, we saw it all. We are all set to take good care of him. We have gone much beyond our capacity just to save him. So, now there is no turning back.”
Community support
The More family has extended a big thanks to mid-day and Mumbaikars for their unwavering support throughout their journey. “It’s always said in movies that ‘Mumbai ke log sabka khayal rakhte hai aur yaha har koi apna hai’. I never thought that I would experience it in any way. While I received approximately R2.5 lakh through crowdfunding, the hospital also helped by giving a discount of R2.98 lakh. And the crowdfunding wouldn’t have been possible without mid-day highlighting our struggle. We will always be humbly thankful to everyone who helped us in this journey,” said Ganesh.
Rs 2.5 lakh
Amount raised by Mumbaikars for the Mores to save their child
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