Five heartbreaks, a birth fraught with peril, and a desperate plea for help. This was the reality for a Sudanese mother whose newborn son faced a host of medical complications. But in a New Year’s miracle at Hyderabad’s Niloufer Government Hospital, hope prevailed. Against all odds, the little boy was on Tuesday declared fit to go home, a testament to the unwavering spirit of a mother and the life-saving care they received.
For 43-year-old Saida Abdul Wahab, who endured five devastating pregnancy losses, the birth of her son was just the beginning of a new struggle. Born with serious health complications, the infant’s future hung in the balance. “My baby…precious. Before coming, (the condition of) my baby was very serious. Now, my baby is very good,” the woman said in a video testimony before leaving the hospital on December 31.
“India is good country… No problem… I am Sudanese… War in my country… I come to this hospital… Good care of my child. I like India. India took care of my child. Doctors…very good relationship with child. Very kind doctors,” she told The Indian Express over the phone, while travelling to the airport on her return to Sudan on Thursday. They have named the baby Hamnad Abdur Raheem, she added.
According to doctors at Niloufer Hospital, Saida arrived in Hyderabad a year ago with the hope of conceiving a child. Her prayers were answered when she conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and birthed a baby boy a month ago. However, the infant was born with bacterial meningitis – an infection of the membranes (meninges) that protect the spinal cord and brain.
Language barriers
The baby suffered from a brain infection, blood infection, and respiratory issues. To make matters worse for Saida, she was running short of funds and her non-familiarity with the local language and the people made her situation even more challenging.
Doctors at the hospital say language barriers prevented them from communicating with her or eliciting any response. “We used to make her video call someone in her hometown in Sudan and talk to him in English. He used to translate and talk back to her. This is how we would communicate with her,” said a doctor.
Stating that the baby was treated free of charge at the government-run hospital, medical superintendent Dr N Ravi Kumar told The Indian Express that it was an exceptional case where the woman had no money to treat her son and arrived at Niloufer. In recent years, Hyderabad has become a hub of medical tourism with patients reaching here from different central Asian and African countries for specialty treatment, especially gastroenterology, cardiology, and infertility.
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After spending about six days in the ICU at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad, Saida moved the baby boy to Niloufer after her resources were exhausted. The baby spent 30 days at Niloufer and the attendants, including Saida, were provided food by the hospital during their stay, neonatologist Dr L Swapna said. According to her, Saida’s age and her history of five previous abortions were a concern during the baby’s early days of treatment as she was unable to establish feeding.
Mother’s age, history key challenges
“The baby was born with bacterial meningitis. He had respiratory problems, feeding and nutrition issues, and required a lot of medication. It was a case of septicaemia (a multi-organ involvement with bacterial infection). Each component had to be handled separately. But it is a common case in newborns,” said Dr Kumar.
What made this case challenging was the mother’s age and the fact that she did not know the local language, he added. “She had tremendous motherly instincts, and we just had to give her some counselling. But language was the challenge here,” Dr Kumar said.
According to the medical superintendent, newborn care was started in Niloufer Hospital in the 1960s and till around the 2000s it had no match even in the private sector. “We may lack some equipment but with 40 truly qualified doctors, we work like a machine,” he added.
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Dr Swapna said the baby recovered fully and was discharged on December 31.
