Today has been hectic. Last night a set of twin girls were born. They are very premature as mum was only 25 weeks pregnant. The hospital here is not set up to deal with such tiny babies. They need ventilation to stop them becoming exhausted just from breathing. As we've mentioned before they don't have a ventilator here. Unfortunately there is no point in sending them to the big government hospital because neonatolgy is such a new speciality here in india and they also wouldn't have the time or the resources needed. Shubhro is going to give them the best care he can but there isn't too much hope because they are likely to get an infection and won't cope.
I was in the paediatric clinic which was very quiet with only 2 patients to see. A 7 month old boy was in with a viral cold and cough. Interestingly, this boy needed to be resuscitated for one hour when he was born. The guidelines say that you should stop resuscitation if it is unsuccessful after 20 minutes. He was beautiful with these gorgeous big brown eyes staring at you. You could tell that he gave his mother great pleasure and joy. Unfortunately, his brain was deprived of oxygen in utero leaving him with some spasticity which suggests he has cerebral palsy. It makes you wonder whether it is morally right to stop resuscitation after 20 minutes. Yes this child will be disabled but his mum clearly loves him and wouldn't want him to have died at birth. I know in the uk the issue of inflicting disability and suffering versus allowing a child to die is pretty contentious.
I then went to the antenatal clinic due to the quietness of paediatrics. Here there was one woman just 13 weeks pregnant who had been suffering from intolerable vomiting since the start of her pregnancy. She has hyperemesis gravidarum (the condition which caused the premature announcement of Kate's pregnancy). She was unwell and had previously been admitted to another hospital 3 times. She needed to be admitted here because she wasn't able to keep anything down. I should mention that the family members provide food and personal care for their relatives in hospital meaning you need willing family to look after you. This woman's mother, who was with her, couldn't stay because she had to look after her husband at home. The lady's husband was refusing to come to her. It was decided she should be admitted anyway and the husband convinced to come. She only stayed for an hour or two before leaving. Her mother was afraid of being left with a hospital bill. What makes this worse is that her husband has a family government health insurance card. The mother said of the husband "I thought he was a good man before he married her, it turns out he isn't". I don't understand indian marriage! This woman deserves so much better. Women here need to have a husband to look after them but it often leaves them trapped. It makes me so glad that the uk is different.
Wow, so much seriousness today! In lighter news, this guy gave me a piece of guava while I was sitting in clinic. It made my day. What a cutie!
J x
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