'Tiny' Indian baby in Dubai survives

Dubai : Just five months after a premature baby made headlines in the UAE, a much younger preemie is born at a hospital in Dubai.

The baby girl born at 22 weeks and weighing only 450gm may possibly be the most premature baby to survive in the UAE, doctors said on Tuesday.

The news comes just months after baby Nicolas who weighed less than an iPad was born weighing only 530gm. Today, Nicolas is five months old and is doing well.

The Indian parents of the latest 'miracle baby' thanked the medical team of Latifa Hospital for nursing their baby Aviva N. Coutinho - born almost 18 weeks prior to full term.

The baby girl raises hope that modern medicine can ensure survival of babies as young as 22 weeks, something that was not possible a few years ago.

Aviva is now doing well at home with her parents and siblings. However, she has fought hard to survive and her case was far from being simple right from the beginning. "Aviva lost her twin while they were in their mother's womb," said Dr Muna Tahlak, CEO of Latifa Hospital.

"We knew that one of the babies is stillborn and therefore we needed high-level of monitoring to ensure the other twin (Aviva) survives and the mother is safe," she explained.

Aviva belongs to a new group of babies known as micro-preemies as they weigh less than 800gm or are younger than 26 weeks at birth.

"At one point, the NICU team feared she might not live. As per American Academy of Pediatrics babies born below 23 weeks of pregnancy hardly survive," said Dr Muna.

Dr Mahmoud El Halik, Consultant Neonatologist and Head of the Pediatric Department at Latifa Hospital, said: "Aviva is likely to be the most premature baby born in 22 weeks of pregnancy to survive in UAE. The chance of survival and normal development for a 22-week pre-term infant is normally very bleak."

"She is indeed a little miracle baby and we are so pleased that not only has she survived, she has endured no damage to her brain, eyes or lungs."

Dr Arif Faquih, neonatologist and acting-head of the neonatology department at Latifa Hospital said: "The most important part of management is obstetric care during pregnancy. Aviva's mother was attending the antenatal clinic at Latifa hospital. She received medicines 48 hours before delivery to make the baby's lungs strong.

"The next step was neonatal care at the time of delivery specially the first 30 minutes immediately after the birth, which is very crucial and is known as platinum time."

Emotionally challenging, says mother

Aviva N. Coutinho, born almost18 weeks prior to full term, is now part of UAE medical history.She has spent almost five months in Latifa Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was taken care of by a multidisciplinary team at the hospital.She survived despite havingvery immature lungs, gut, brain,skin and fragile bones.

According to Aviva's mother R.C, the five months she stayed in the hospital was " a long, emotional and very challenging time." "Yet, here I am with my miracle baby in my arms," she said. "We are thankful to the neo-natal intensive care unit team at the hospital. Not only did they provide us with exceptional care but they prayed for little Aviva every single day. They shared my little daughter.