In a medical breakthrough, a 24-week baby survived childbirth, making it one of the youngest premature babies in Andhra Pradesh.
Doctors at the MyCure Hospital in Visakhapatnam said that the baby boy, conceived through In vitro fertilisation (IVF), and weighed only 650g at birth, compared to the average weight of 2.5 to 3kg.
The Hindu reported that the chance of survival of such babies was minimal, and was only made possible with medical care.
Dr Sai Sunil Kishore, senior neonatologist who handled the case, told media persons that the mother, Nagalakshmi, decided to go for IVF and the baby was born nearly four months early, within just 24 weeks of gestation on September 8, 2017.
Due to this, she had rupture of membranes and pregnancy could not be continued.
The baby was then shifted from the Vizag IVF Centre to the MyCure Hospital, as the baby’s lungs and some organs were functionally immature, which stunted his development.
"His lungs and other organs were functionally immature, the baby's development was stunted, He was prone to severe infections and had extremely low immunity,"
Doctors said that it was on a ventilator for 18 days, following which intravenous nutrition was administered for two weeks.
After two-and-a-half months at the hospital, a healthy baby was discharged from the hospital.
Speaking to reporters, Nagalakshmi said, "I believe it is the doctor's continuous reassurance, his positivity and clinical treatment that held their hope through the tough two months. We are now planning the naming ceremony."
According to some estimates, India’s In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinic market is worth more than $400 million.
The procedure is also catching up in the Telugu states, in cities like Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
"There's considerable awareness among people these days than what it was a few years ago. If even after two years of marriage and despite normal conjugal relations, the woman doesn't conceive, the couple can consult gynaecologists and opt for IVF, if required, after certain lab investigations. Nowadays, we see around six new patients per day at our centre," Dr Giri Babu of Krishna Infertility Centre, Vizag, had earlier told the Times of India.