Born weighing 650 grams, baby goes home healthy at 2.7 kg

Sunita Kujur, 36, had the glow of a new mother as her 4-month-old breastfed baby nestled in the crook of her arm. Born prematurely at 23.2 weeks and weighing merely 650 gms her baby boy had fought the odds to survive. 

Sunita and her husband Jyotis, who work at CISF in Tarapur, have another 13-year-old son Aman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Conceived 13 years after their first child, he arrived at a time when few babies survive.

“There are very few babies who survive before 23 weeks. While the data is variable, close to 8-10 per cent of all deliveries are pre-term,” said Dr Suresh Birajdar, Consultant Pediatrician and Neonatologist, Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital.   

Sunita had a normal pregnancy till she suddenly went into labour at 23 weeks. “I was being brought to Mumbai from Tarapur in an ambulance and my delivery happened in the emergency room of the hospital the moment I was brought in,” said Sunita.

“650 gms was a good weight for a baby that was born at 23 weeks when most babies would weigh 500 gms. This factor also probably helped it survive,” said Dr Birajdar. 

“We did a sonography of the brain and there was no significant bleeding. At the moment the baby is breastfeeding on his own and smiling,” Dr Birajdar said, cautioning that there is still a long way to go.

Premature babies

8-9 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide go into pre-term labour
Babies born early are susceptible to infection
Very few babies born before 23 weeks survive
Survival chances improve between 23 and 25 weeks