Baby who weighed 600g at birth 'in good health'

The infant was born with an extremely low birth weight of 600 grammes. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard]

Not even the doctors at the Nyamira County Referral Hospital imagined that an infant born with an extremely low birth weight of 600 grammes would survive.

But after staying at the hospital’s nursery for 90 days, she was discharged four days ago, weighing two kilogrammes.

Dr Timothy Ombati who has been attending to the baby at the paediatric ward, says there is a worry when a baby is born with such extremely low weight because premature babies usually have underdeveloped body organs.

The baby, for instance, overcame so many life-threatening hurdles.

The baby's mother Catherine Nyaboke. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard]

“The baby was born on the seventh month of pregnancy and at that age, some vital body organs like the lungs and liver have not fully developed. She needed extra care and that is exactly what made her overcome the dangers,” Dr Ombati said.

Dr Ombati says the medics succeeded to maintain the health of the infant by being extra vigilant against common challenges that kill newborns.

“We were very cautious against common killers of premature babies like general breathing problems, anaemia, pneumonia, intraventricular haemorrhage and even newborn jaundice. But above all, we put God first in our services to the baby girl,” Ombati says.

As doctors and nurses celebrated the child’s milestones, her mother, Catherine Nyaboke, was still reminiscing what she says was a miracle survival of her baby.

“When I delivered her, I was sure her survival chances were very slim but I left it all to God,” Nyaboke said.

The baby's mother Catherine Nyaboke (left) with grandmother Milkah Kwamboka. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard]

All along, Nyaboke said she would religiously follow the instructions of medics at the nursery and paediatric ward as she fervently prayed that her baby gains full weight.

“I was very keen on every instruction the doctors gave me in caring for my baby. For example, I milked for the baby and offered kangaroo care to her,” she says.

Kangaroo care is where a mother straps the infant to her body to achieve skin-to-skin contact.

This keeps the kid’s temperature well-maintained at the required optimum.