Doctors at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hanoi said on Wednesday that they had successfully nurtured newborn twins born preterm at 25 weeks' gestation and weighing barely 500 grams each.
Le Minh Trac, director of the neonatal care center at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that this was the first time the hospital had managed to nurture preterm twins born at 25 weeks' gestation and discharged them after four months of treatment.
“To assess whether the infants' intestines were receptive, doctors gave the two babies 16 meals of milk with one milliliter each over the first two weeks," Trac said.
“In the following weeks, the babies consumed six milliliters per meal, gradually increasing to twenty milliliters apiece.”
As of Wednesday, the twins weighed 3.4 and 3.6 kilograms, which equates to a gestational age of 41 weeks.
Trac added that the twins have avoided all preterm birth complications, including retinal complications, hemorrhage, breathing difficulties, heart problems, and other complications.
In addition to consuming 600-700 milliliters of milk per day, the two infants had very distinct emotions when they were close to their mother.
V., the mother of the twins, stated that she got pregnant with the support of assisted reproductive technology.
Her husband contracted COVID-19 when she was 25 weeks pregnant, and she had direct contact with him.
Therefore, she was very anxious and experienced many contractions before her water broke and she gave birth to the twins at a very early gestational age of 25 weeks.
"My family was extremely worried at that time, but thankfully both babies are now healthy,” she said.
Tran Danh Cuong, director of the National Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, said that doctors and nurses cared for the infants as if they were still in the womb.
The successful care and feeding of both infants demonstrate the hospital's expertise in obstetrics and gynecology, which not only enables infertile women to conceive but also helps mothers keep their preterm newborns.
In 2010, the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hanoi successfully raised a premature baby weighing 500 grams.
In 2021, a baby weighing 400 grams at birth was also well cared for at the hospital and did not experience any complications.
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