In NICU, mama kangaroos help give critical care

Bangalore: Tiny bodies connected to multiple tubes -- the neonatal ICU is a critical unit where newborns hover in the grey space between life and death.
While one infant gasps for breath, another weakly moves its little hands and legs as though kicking the mother’s womb. They breathe through tubes connected to their fragile lungs. Manipal Hospital’s 22-year-old neonatal ICU is the largest in the city, and accommodates 35 newborns requiring critical care.
TOI visited the ICU, where India’s third lightest baby stayed for more than two months, and saw young mothers giving their preemies Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). The mother sits for hours together, holding the baby in her hands and close to her breasts, providing the goodness of her warmth and touch. KMC is given for infants with a birth weight of less than 1,500 gm.
A mother of twins born prematurely 10 days ago, weighing 800 grams each, visits the kids wearing a green gown. She knows the girl is recovering, but not her little boy. Then there is a baby whose abdominal parts are stuck near the heart. Another boy whose breathing stops intermittently.
“We don’t hide these facts from the parents and we need their support for the babies to recover. In case of premature births, there are chances of babies developing neurological impairment. We constantly monitor oxygen and sugar levels, and the heartbeat,” said Dr Praveen Venkatagiri, neonatologist, Manipal Hospitals.
“The cause for premature births is unknown. We cannot say the mother’s food intake decides the weight of the baby. Through the NICU, we try to create an artificial womb. In most cases, the mothers are shocked to see such tiny babies and don’t associate with them. Actually, it’s the mother who can help the child the most, apart from nurses and specialists in the NICU,” Dr Praveen adds.
Some babies who were treated in the NICU 22 years ago are now pursuing courses in engineering, medicine, conservation biology, while one is a chartered accountant. “I’m still in touch with some of those small patients who are now doing excellently in life. That’s the pleasure of being a doctor,” says Dr Karthik Nagesh, chief of neonatology who started the unit in Manipal Hospitals.