KOCHI: When Nova was born on September 19 last year, parents Kerin Durom and Sujisha, natives of Palluruthy, were deeply concerned. Weighing only 350 grams at birth, Nova was considered to be the smallest baby in Southeast Asia. However, after 100 days of intensive care and treatment, the life of the newborn has been brought to a stable and healthy state.
“For any baby, survival typically requires at least 24 weeks of growth in the mother’s womb. However, Nova was born at just 23 weeks, which is even earlier than the minimum necessary for survival. To make matters worse, the mother, Sujisha, had an infection at the time of delivery, which posed a serious risk of transmitting the infection to the baby,” said Dr Rojo Joy, a neonatal specialist at the hospital.
Due to Nova’s underdeveloped organs, the baby was immediately provided with artificial respiration upon birth. Nova was then placed on a ventilator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a month, before transitioning to an advanced non-invasive ventilator system.
“Throughout this period, the baby’s heart function was closely monitored with a point-of-care echocardiogram, as well as a neurosonogram. The necessary medications were also administered,” Dr Joy added.
After 100 days of intensive care, Nova now weighs 1.850kg and is ready for discharge. Sujisha and Kerin expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the doctors and staff for their dedication to saving their child’s life.
A press conference held on Saturday was attended by Lourdes Group of Institutions’ director Fr George Sequeira, associate director Fr Vimal Francis, the baby’s father Kevin Durom, Dr Rojo Joy, Dr Praveena Elizabeth, senior consultant in gynaecology, and other medical staff.