Baby declared stillborn found to be alive, now under observation

Barely hours after being born, Karjat-resident Aruna Gaikwad8217;s daughter was at the centre of much drama after being declared stillborn by a civic hospital. Family members were headed to make funeral preparations when they saw the child gasping. She is now under observation in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The child, born on June 16 at the Sion hospital, was declared 8220;stillborn8221; at the time of the delivery. As the family proceeded to take the child for a funeral, she began gasping and was rushed back to the hospital. Born at 32 weeks of pregnancy through a normal delivery, the 1.1-kilogram baby is still 8220;very critical8221; and under observation at the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital.

Seven months into her second pregnancy, Gaikwad 30 was brought to the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion, on June 15 as she began convulsing at her residence. 8220;The other hospitals did not admit her and I had to bring he here,8221; said Bhagwan Gaikwad, Aruna8217;s husband.

8220;The baby was delivered at 7.21 pm on June 16. As no heartbeat was felt, the child was declared stillborn. The mother was on a high dose of sedatives and the convulsions may have lulled the child,8221; said Dr Suleiman Merchant.