When this newborn baby was brought to Hospital from a remote area in the outskirts of Bengaluru, his parents felt they were fighting a losing battle but still had not given up hope. Ashwini’s son (Sambhav) was born prematurely at 28 weeks of gestation and looked tiny in his mother’s hands, weighing just 900 grams. The small nursing home where he was born was not adequately equipped to handle a premature baby that needed critical care. So, at the parents’ behest the newborn was transported to Hospital, with the help of its special ‘NICU on Wheels’ facility that is a boon for babies that need emergency medical care.

Baby Sambhav came into the world with many complications that are often seen in preterm births — his lungs were not fully developed, so he was having trouble breathing; initial tests indicated that he had low haemoglobin levels and was suffering from Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), an eye disease seen in premature babies as the retina is not fully developed and the eyes are shut for the first few weeks after birth.    

The newborn was admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was put on ventilator support. He needed constant monitoring and medical care, which meant high treatment costs. The parents were in financial distress and could not afford the hospital expenditure. With the help of a donation appeal and major discounts given by the hospital, the parents managed to meet treatment costs. Baby Sambhav went home healthy after 72 days of stay in the hospital weighing about 1.6 kgs. The little one has since then grown well, reaching developmental milestones on time.