Mama and I’s multidisciplinary team saved two high-risk newborns after a long fight for their lives
Nadezhda and Georgi were discharged in excellent health thanks to the dedicated work of the teams at the high-tech hospital
Two high-risk newborns with extremely low birth weights have been discharged in excellent health from the country’s newest maternal and child health clinic – ‘Mama and I’ in Pleven. The children were born after high-risk pregnancies and were monitored and treated at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinic under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yordan Popov.
Nadezhda (“Hope” in Bulgarian) is a long awaited child, after a successful in-vitro procedure. The mother’s pregnancy had severe complications – pre-eclampsia and thyroid pathology. After a series of consultations, obstetricians, resuscitation specialists, cardiologists, endocrinologists and neonatologists decided on operative delivery at an early term, as the child suffered tremendously in the mother’s womb. Hope was born with an extremely low birth weight – only 960 grams. Immediately after birth, the neonatology team under the direction of Dr. Andrei Hristov began caring for her around the clock. The child is extremely risky. It is seriously delayed in its intrauterine development. The team conducts initial stabilization and intensive treatment. As a result of the incomplete rotation of the newborn’s intestinal system, he developed one of the rarest afflictions in the field of surgical pathology.
“Nadezhda turned out to be a very strong child, despite her weight and prematurity, the complications that occurred in the gastrointestinal system and liver,” says Dr. Hristov. “Our success with her is the result of the super modern and high-tech equipment, as well as the individual approach and dedicated work of the well-trained team of the department.” Nadezhda was discharged healthy, the parents are happy, and the follow-up of the child in the neonatology department continues.
George also became a favourite of the obstetricians and neonatologists. He is the third child in the family. The mother’s pregnancy proceeded normally until the amniotic fluid leaked prematurely. The parents are confused and seek help at another medical facility, but are left disappointed. On the recommendation of friends, they decide to visit ‘Mama and I’ and are quickly convinced that this is where their child will be born. The parents-to-be meet the obstetric team – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yordan Popov and Dr. Mazhet Alkara, and Dr. Andrey Hristov introduces them to the capabilities of the neonatology department. Georgi was born weighing 1,000 grams, later reaching 800 grams. Intensive care was applied in full and with technology that is only available in the neonatology department of ‘Mama and I’. The child went through various trials, however the neonatology team successfully managed the complications that arose, the most severe of which was pulmonary haemorrhage. With each passing day the child’s condition improves, the parents are reassured and a smile appears on their faces. After several months of intensive care, George is now home and the family is happy.
“Such moments of happiness make us feel like winners,” says Dr. Hristov. Staying true to their motto, “We handle the difficult with ease, the impossible slows us down just a little,” the team took on the care of the next at-risk child.
