After 18 failed deliveries, son-shine for Indravati

Doctors seemed unable to detect what was wrong with either Indravati or her husband. “It was a difficult period for me. While on one hand, there seemed no reason for any problems, on the other, I was childless even after 24 years of marriage,” she said.

Even this delivery has not been smooth sailing. Born premature, the boy weighed just 940 grams on birth and had to be shifted to Surya Nursing Home, Santacruz in a special ambulance. According to Dr Bhupendra Awasthi, consultant neonatologist, premature babies often die while they are being transported either due to a drop in sugar levels or a fall in body temperature. Indravati’s child was kept in an incubator and accompanied by a neonatologist during the transfer, he said.

The baby was then fed intravenous fluids and given respiratory support for the first few days since he had difficulty in breathing. “The first 72 hours were critical, and once this period passed, the danger was over and the baby was fed through a tube with mother’s milk,” he explained. The baby is now kept in an incubator, and over the last eight weeks, he has gained weight and now weighs 1.5 kilograms, he added. The infant can be discharged in a couple of weeks.

Gazing at her child, which was making tiny movements within the incubator, Indravati said that this was probably her last delivery. “We thank God for finally giving us a child,” she exulted.

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