Umut baby, who was born at 23 weeks of pregnancy with a 648-gram weight and 28 centimeters height and stayed in the intensive care unit for 3 months, managed to hold on to life. Mother Yasemin Babacan said that they never lost hope during the difficult process.

Yasemin (34) and Erdal Babacan (34) couple living in Istanbul wanted to have a child 1 year ago but postponed it due to some health problems. The married couple of 7 and a half years found out that Jasmine was pregnant just as they were about to start using egg-cracking needles. A young woman who is pregnant with her first child, a finance specialist, said that they had no problems in the first 5 months and that her baby’s development was also good.

Sac Came Out Due to Cervical Insufficiency

Mother Babacan, who underwent a detailed ultrasound at the end of 5 and a half months, said, “We learned that the sac (intrauterine gestational sac) came out due to cervical insufficiency. They took me to emergency surgery, then we were told to be prepared for anything. The troublesome process started here. My doctor said that the operation went well, they took the sac inside and stitched it, but my pregnancy had to go through lying down from then on. "I was just getting up to go to the bathroom,".
Babacan, who spent 3 weeks in bed at home, had a serious fungal infection during this time When the infection did not go away with treatment, their pain increased and the condition began to harm the mother/baby. Explaining the process, Babacan said, “From the last meeting I had with my doctor, he said that the infection hurt me and that we would lose the baby, and that it should be aborted. However, that evening my water broke, and they took me to an emergency operation. They said they would take the baby out by opening my stitches and giving me artificial pain. We did not sleep until the morning and we still wanted to have hope. We prayed a lot, wanted a miracle, and that miracle happened. Our baby ‘Umut’ was born.”

“He Made Us Believe He Will Live”

Explaining that she saw her 648-gram baby was born 8 hours later, Babacan said, “He was intubated, He was so tiny when I saw him, his fingers were black. He was weak, only his ribs were visible. We believed he would live, he made us believe. The risk was high, there could be permanent damage. Every day at noon and in the evening, we were visiting the intensive care unit for 10 minutes. We could not touch them in any way. Gradually we began to touch his hands, and a few months later I took him in my arms. He started to breathe on his own.".

Umut is Our Reason to Live!

Yasemin Babacan, who said that Umut fought against the fungal infection for 30 days, said, "He had very difficult times, there were times when he received 100 percent oxygen. There were times when we thought something was over, but we never lost hope. The infection had spread to his heart, but miraculously, our baby overcame it," he said.

Erdal Babacan: “We Kept Saying the word (Hope)'Umut’”

Father Erdal Babacan said, “We did not think of a name, we had so much difficulty throughout the process that we kept saying the word (Umut) (which means hope in English) during this period. We supported each other by saying 'Let's not lose hope'. Then, when they asked what we named it, we said it will probably be Umut (hope), I think it was very meaningful.”

Prof. Dr. Bakar: “A 22-Week Baby Has a 10 Percent Chance of Survival”

Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Pediatrics and Newborn Specialist Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar headed the team working to ensure that baby Umut continues to live in good health after coming into the world and gave information about the health status of baby Umut.

Stating that every baby born before 37 weeks is premature for them, Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said; “The viability limit starts after 22-23 weeks. Babies born before 25-26 weeks are now called 'micro-premature'. Because that group is at higher risk, a 22-week-old baby has a 10 percent chance of survival. As the baby grows, this rate rises to 60 percent. Because there are many risks associated with premature birth, such as brain hemorrhages, blindness, deafness, and severe infections. The earlier the baby is born, the more common these risks are.”

Umut Baby Remains in Intensive Care for 3 Months

Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar told the following about the story of Umut baby's survival: “Sometimes, when there is a risky situation for the mother or the child, the doctor may decide on premature birth. It was the same with baby Umut. The mother had a severe fungal infection, if we had kept the baby inside, we would have put the mother’s life at risk. The baby stayed in intensive care for 3 months, and survived a difficult process. But we followed a good process compared to the baby born at such an early time. He is now in very good health, with no signs of permanent damage. But of course, we will continue to follow up. We hope that he will healthily complete this process also in a neurological sense in the future,".

“Family Should Pay Attention to Hygiene in Premature Babies”

Reminding that premature babies may encounter some problems due to weak immune systems, Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said, “Baby Umut was born at 648 grams, 28 centimeters. Currently, he is around 2 and a half kilograms and 45 centimeters in height, which is quite healthy. Babies born prematurely have weak immune systems, so it is necessary to be very careful about infections. We want the family to pay great attention to hygiene and to take care of nutrition. Umut also had a severe fungal infection, which caused the findings, of what we call fungal balls in his heart. He was treated intravenously for it for about 2 months and got better.”

“It Is Important Not Only to Keep Premature Babies Alive, But Also to Keep Them Healthy”

Giving a message on 17 November World Prematurity Day, Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said, “We see too many premature babies now. It is very important to continue the treatment in highly equipped centers. Because it is very important not only to keep these babies alive but also to keep them healthy. We do not want them to continue their lives as sick individuals.”. 

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