A premature baby boy, who weighed only 550 grams at the time of birth, was discharged on Wednesday after nearly three weeks of treatment at Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital.
Bhuvaneshwari (25) from Pooluvapatti in Tiruppur delivered the baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy on July 29. According to Priya Visuvasam, In-charge, Department of Paediatrics, the premature baby was admitted at the neonatal intensive care unit the next day and after nearly three weeks, the baby weighed 1.46 kg on Wednesday.
The baby boy was placed under a ventilation system called continuous positive airway pressure and was transfused with packaged red blood cells as he was found to be anaemic. Prior to discharge, the boy was also subjected to retinopathy of prematurity screening as long periods of oxygen supply could damage the retina of premature babies, Dr. Visuvasam said. “The baby is stable now,” she noted.
On Wednesday, the baby was handed over to the parents in the presence of Dean Valli Sathyamoorthy. The District Early Intervention Centre will monitor the baby’s health for the next six months as he is still underweight, according to Dr. Visuvasam.