THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The arrival of a nine-month-old baby girl at the Kerala State Child Welfare Council’s facility in Thiruvananthapuram was no ordinary homecoming. She was welcomed with warmth, and the moment celebrated, as she had arrived after fighting for her life. The council has received more than a thousand children over the years, but unlike others, the authorities had been waiting for this infant for more than eight months.
For this little girl is different as her journey was uncertain, given her premature birth at 23 weeks. She weighed just 810g.
“She was surrendered by her mother at the SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Once we came to know about the development, we took the responsibility to treat her and appointed a staff member at the hospital to take care of the child. For seven months, she was on a ventilator at the hospital. Though we hadn’t seen her then, we were all hopeful that she would return to life,” said G L Arun Gopi, the general secretary of Child Welfare Council.
Born with underdeveloped internal organs, she was discharged and brought to the facility after Onam. However, she was later shifted to the Ananthapuri Hospital.
“As a premature child, she was suffering from health issues related to underdevelopment of organs. When Dr Kamala visited the child at the council, she opined that the child needed better care and thus took her to Ananthapuri Hospital. The treatment continued there for another one and a half months, and she was brought to our council 15 days ago,” Arun said, thanking the support from paediatricians and hospital staff for taking care of the child.
The infant is taken care of by two staff members.
“We are cautious while looking after her. Since she was born prematurely, every developmental milestone is important. We are following the care plan recommended by the doctors. To prevent any possible infections, a separate room has been allocated for the child. We aim to improve her health and ensure that she grows up healthy,” said a staff member taking care of the baby.
The Council general secretary pointed out that a majority of the children received at the facility are underweight.
“We consult doctors and prepare individual care plans for each of them. Many children grow up healthy, and many of them have been adopted by couples,” Arun added.