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29 March 2024

Kangaroo care helped Dubai's 450gm 'miracle' baby survive

Published
By Staff

A birth weight of less than an iPad (450 grams) and born at 22 weeks (almost 18 weeks prior to full term), the micro-preemie is possibly the most premature baby to survive in the UAE.

The parents of baby girl Aviva N Coutinho are grateful to the medical team at Latifa hospital for nursing their baby back to health.

She fought hard to survive and her case was far from being simple right from the beginning.

“Aviva lost her twin while they were in their mother’s womb itself. We knew that one of the babies was stillborn and therefore we needed high-level of monitoring to ensure the other twin (Aviva) survives and the mother is safe. Moreover, there were several complications along the way that the medical team had to overcome,” said Dr. Muna Tahlak, CEO of Latifa Hospital.

“Once Aviva was born at 22 weeks, spent almost five months in Latifa Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was taken care of by a multidisciplinary team at the hospital.

“Aviva belongs to a new group of babies known as micro-preemies as they weigh less than 800 grams or are younger than 26 weeks at birth.”

Her mother, RC said, “We stayed in Latifa Hospital for almost five months. It is a long, emotional and very challenging time and yet here I am with my miracle baby in my arms.

“We are eternally thankful to the NICU team at the hospital. Not only did they provide us with exceptional care but also they prayed for little Aviva every single day. They shared my pain, happiness and love for my little daughter.”

Dr. Mahmoud El Halik, Consultant Neonatologist and Head of the Pediatric Department at Latifa Hospital, said, “Aviva is likely to be the most premature baby born at exact 22 weeks of pregnancy to survive in this country.  The chance of survival and normal development for a 22-week preterm infant is normally very bleak.”

He added that a study released in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2016 showed that survival without moderate or severe impairment is 2.0 per cent among children born at 22 weeks of gestation.

“She is indeed a miracle baby and we are so pleased that not only has she survived, she has endured no damage to her brain, eyes or lungs.”

Dr. Arif Faquih, neonatologist and acting-head of the neonatology department at Latifa Hospital, said, “The most important part of management in such cases is obstetric care during pregnancy.

“Aviva’s mother was attending the antenatal clinic at Latifa hospital. She received medicines 48 hours before delivery to make the baby’s lungs strong.

“The next step was neonatal care by experienced and dedicated doctors and nurses at the time of delivery specially the first 30 minutes immediately after the birth, which is very crucial and is known as platinum time.”

Faquih said during the first 30 minutes the team managed to  provide warmth to maintain the baby’s temperature, supported respiration in the labor suite, transported the baby to the NICU, supported her respiration by ventilator, started nutrition and most important of all handled her with extreme care to avoid any damage to the baby’s vital organs.  

“I remember telling the parents to be positive and telling them to do Kangaroo-Mother-Care. It was an absolute challenge to provide kangaroo-care for such a tiny baby. We had to ensure she was on ventilator throughout that time but because we believe in the importance of skin-to-skin care and its impact in helping babies thrive, we managed to provide such care.”

Faquih added, "She survived despite having very immature lungs, gut, brain, skin and fragile bones.”

Aviva is now doing well at home with her parents and siblings. She regularly goes for follow-ups at Latifa Hospital, where neonatologists and multidisciplinary teams check physical growth, neurodevelopmental assessment, nutrition and developmental assessment.

This little miracle has both her parents and hospital staff overjoyed because she is proof that modern medicine and qualified medical staff can ensure the survival of babies as young as 22 weeks.