Born in 27th week, baby makes it after 5-month Bengaluru hospital care

BENGALURU: Advik, a premature baby, was just the size of a palm when he was born. "Our baby boy couldn't wait a minute longer, neither could we.... On August 10, 2022, he came out exploring the world in just the 27th week,'' says Advik's father Piyush Khandelwal, 33, working as a data privacy consultant in a leading auditing firm in Bengaluru.
Weighing only 550gm at birth, Advik was shifted to NICU.Advik contracted an infection the day he was born, and his platelets started dropping. Even a loud sound could raise his BP, leading to a bleed in the brain, said Dr Ravi Kiran S, senior consultant, paediatrics and neonatology at Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, who is heading the team treating Advik.
After five months in the hospital, the child was discharged on January 5 this year. Surviving multiple infections, blood transfusions, prolonged ventilator support, organ immaturity, a surgery, he came out conquering all of it.
By the time of discharge, he gained a few grams. He and we became half-doctors ourselves," smiles Advik's mother Khushboo Khandelwal, 33, who is employed in an investment bank in Bengaluru.
"Noise above 35 decibels could cause havoc in him. We used decibel monitors to check the noise level in the room and ensure his safety. Also, I would take care to be in limits about noise in NICU," says Dr Ravi, adding the baby's BP had to be managed with medications.
Advik did not cry when he was born. His lungs were not expanded, and they could not oxygenate themselves well. Lungs are like a balloon, says Dr Ravi. "There is a substance called surfactant in our lungs, which help to keep the lungs open. When we exhale, the lungs do not collapse like a balloon. It will remain open. But in preterm babies, the surfactant is not developed, and their lungs collapse easily when they breathe out. To keep their lungs open, we have to start these babies on breathing support systems and give them artificial surfactant. We put Advik in an endotracheal tube and support," he explains.
Also, nutrition became a challenge as Advik did not have the ability to suck and swallow. His intestines were immature and he could not be given anything but mother's milk. "We had to sustain his nutrition with intravenous support. That is also a challenge because his veins were very thin. So we secured his umbilical veins. The veins were used for the sake of IV fluids and nutrition for the baby, and the arteries were used for monitoring the baby's heart rate and BP."
Advik would be covered in a polythene cover. It was also important to maintain the baby's temperature. Preterm babies lose a lot of body water by way of evaporation through their skin. Their breathing, respiration, heart rate, urine, stool, intake and output should be monitored every hour.
Khushboo Khandelwal, 33, went for her routine pregnancy scan at Sakra Hospital on August 5, 2022. "We were told that there is an issue with the placenta (utero placental insufficiency) because of which our baby wasn't getting enough blood supply in the uterus resulting in severe growth restriction," she recalls.
Fast-forward to August 10, 2022, they were still monitoring the baby but something wasn't right this time. "It was explained to us that I'd have to deliver the baby the same day by an emergency C-section or there was a risk to his life if we waited any longer. It was the toughest call of our lives and we probably made the right choice of delivering the baby," Khushboo recalls.