Medical team of Virudhunagar Government Medical College hospital along with a couple from Samyalkudi while discharging pre-term baby, which was under intensive medical care for 79 days.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
With utmost care given for 79-long days, medical officers and nursing staff of the Department of Paediatrics of Virudhunagar Government Medical College hospital successfully saved a pre-term male baby that had weighed only 790 grams.
Besides admitting the baby in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the doctors adopted Kangaroo mother care with round-the-clock monitoring by dedicated nursing staff, said the hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. N. Aravind Babu.
Muthumari, wife of Arulraj of Sayalkudi had delivered the extreme pre-term baby at the hospital on November 16, 2025.
“Since the baby was delivered in the 26th week, its lungs had not matured enough for expansion. Hence, the infant was kept with external medical support at the NICU,” Dr. Arvind Babu said.
During the level-3 intensive care, not even the mother could visit the child. It was the nursing staff who had handled the very fragile baby with utmost care, he added.
“The baby was more prone to infection and also prone to hypothermia,” he added.
Nasal feeding was provided to the baby that was not matured enough for breast feeding.
In due course, the baby was united with the mother and was under Kangaroo mother care.
As the baby attained the weight of 1.420 kg, the mother and baby were successfully discharged on Monday.
The entire family has been instructed about handling of the baby.
The baby would be under constant monitoring by the Village Health Nurse, Dr. Aravind Babu said.
Head of the Paediatrics Department Dr. Senthilkumaran and Nodal Officer for Special Newborn Care unit Dr. Shanmugamoorthi were present.
Published – February 02, 2026 08:22 pm IST
