750-gram baby treated successfully at Turkish hospital

By Tugba Yardimci

TRABZON, Turkey (AA) – A baby born prematurely in northeastern Turkey, weighing just 750 grams (1.65 pounds) at the time of birth, has been successfully treated and sent home after 80 days in intensive care, the baby’s mother and doctors told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

The baby was born prematurely to Songul Sandikci, in the 25th week of pregnancy, at a hospital in Trabzon, in the country’s Black Sea region, and is now heading home weighing 2.4 kilograms (5.2 pounds), doctors said.

Sandikci said that she suffered miscarriage twice due to cervical insufficiency. Underlining that the baby was now fine, Sandikci said: “It was a very difficult process. I had two miscarriages before, so I was scared of pre-term birth.”

She said doctors and nurses gave her morale support and also motivated her. “I thank them all one by one,” she added.

According to global health standards, range of normal weight of a baby at the time of birth is between 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds) and 4.5 kilograms (9.9 pounds).

In recorded medical history, the lowest birth weight for a surviving infant has been documented at a U.S. hospital in 2004, when Rumaisa Rahman gave birth to a baby, weighing just 260 grams (0.57 pounds).

The UNICEF and WHO data suggests that 11.4% underweight babies are born in Turkey every year, against the global average of 15%.

Dr. Berna Hekimoglu, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit supervisor, said that although the patient who suffered cervical insufficiency had stitches in her cervix, she gave birth in the 25th week of pregnancy.

Hekimoglu underlined that after staying for 80 days of intensive care the baby is in good health. The doctor also added that Baby Hasan was attached to a mechanic ventilation in the first 10 days to regulate breathing activities.

The doctor pointed out that premature babies could experience problems in sight, hearing or brain development, adding that routine controls in hospital must be carried out.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz