Rajawadi Hospital docs and nurses save newborn girl who was dumped in garbage bin

Khushi now weighs 2.2 kg. “This is the first time that we had an abandoned baby. She is the first thing we discuss in the morning. Seeing her, we felt happy and that’s why we decided to call her Khushi. Now that she is set to be discharged, the thought of her being with us is yet to settle in,” said Sadhana Patil, another nurse

Mumbai: A team of doctors and nurses of Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, gave a new lease of life to a newborn girl who was found in a garbage bin near Powai on June 12. The baby, who weighed around 1.4kg, was discovered with no clothes on, dirt on her body, unhygienically cut umbilical cord and blood, was battling for her life for 28-days in the neonatal care unit (NICU) of the hospital. She is now set to be discharged next week after responding well to the treatment.

Mumbai, India - July, 19, 2023: A month ago, a small New born baby was thrown in the trash In Rajawadi Hospital, the nurses and doctors have taken special care of the baby and have improved the health of the baby , in Mumbai , in Mumbai, India, on,Wednesday, July, 19, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

The child, named Khushi by the nurses, was brought to the hospital by Powai policemen. According to hospital officials, a passerby alerted Powai police station of the newborn being abandoned in the garbage bin.

“I was on duty when the constable brought the baby around 11.30am. She was wrapped in a dirty cloth and had dirt all over her body,” said Neelam Bhor, one of the eight nurses who took care of the baby.

Doctors said the baby must have been born on June 11 night or June 12 early morning.

“The umbilical cord was not cut properly. It was rather cut in an unhygienic way, in haste maybe. There was some bleeding from the umbilical stump. She was not even breathing properly and her body temperature was low,” said Dr Amit Vatkar, head, paediatric department, Rajawadi Hospital.

The doctors and nurses formed a team to take care of Khushi and she was immediately kept on intravenous fluid, (liquids injected into veins through an IV tube), antibiotics and oxygen. “We first cleaned her and tied her umbilical cord before keeping her in infant warmer to normalise her body temperature. She had caught bacterial infection because of the unhygienic condition in which she was kept soon after her birth. Newborns are susceptible to infection from the environment,” said Dr Vatkar.

Khushi was started on feed from the fifth day from the hospital’s human milk bank.

“The nurses took rounds in checking on the baby. As the antibiotics were weaned off after 4-5 days, she was given milk through the Ryles tube. Within 10 days of hospitalisation, we managed to start her on oral feed. The nurses and resident doctors took turns, mostly nurses, to feed the baby,” said Dr Vatkar.

Khushi now weighs 2.2 kg. “This is the first time that we had an abandoned baby. She is the first thing we discuss in the morning. Seeing her, we felt happy and that’s why we decided to call her Khushi. Now that she is set to be discharged, the thought of her being with us is yet to settle in,” said Sadhana Patil, another nurse.

According to the hospital officials, Khushi will be handed over to Powai police station after the discharge that is likely to be next week.