Inserting a needle into veins as thin as hair On the afternoon of July 9 at around 4 PM, a mother from Zhuzhou named Wang Ying (alias) was rushed to the local hospital and subsequently delivered a miniature male infant weighing only 500 grams and measuring 28.5 centimeters in length. The doctors estimated based on the baby's physical characteristics that he had probably been in his mother's womb for only 24 weeks and 1 day before being born prematurely (while a normal full-term baby stays in the womb for at least 37 weeks, with a weight generally ranging from 2500 grams to 4000 grams).
"This belongs to an ultra-low birth weight newborn, and the situation is extremely dangerous. He has almost all the neonatal diseases listed in the textbooks!" According to Professor Gao Xirong, director of the Neonatology Department at the Provincial Children's Hospital, after diagnosis, the baby suffered from neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal shock, extremely severe acidosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and premature infant injuries. Currently, the baby's condition remains very unstable. He is receiving 24-hour special medical care in a neonatal incubator, including electrocardiogram monitoring, anti-infection treatment, hemostasis, correction of acidosis, and cardiac protection among other symptomatic supportive treatments.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of premature infants admitted to the Provincial Children's Hospital. Pregnant women with multiple fetuses have a higher probability of delivering premature babies. Additionally, increased stress on pregnant women and the misuse of assisted delivery techniques are also related to the rise in premature births. Furthermore, alcohol consumption, smoking, abuse of drugs, lack of trace elements, placental abruption, and placenta previa can also lead to the birth of low-weight premature infants. Records show that in 2006, a baby named "Chen Xiangyi" from Jiangxi Tunggu was successfully treated at the Provincial Children's Hospital, weighing only 500 grams at birth, making him the lightest premature infant successfully treated nationwide at that time.
The previous day, the "miniature male infant" received treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit of the Provincial Children's Hospital. This photo was taken by Xinhua News Agency reporter Long Hongtao. Welcome to post comments. I want to comment. Weibo recommendation | Today's popular Weibo topics (edited by SN026).
To prevent the occurrence of miniature infants, it is crucial to prevent premature births. Gao Xirong stated that expectant mothers should avoid excessive fatigue, refrain from frequently working overtime or staying up late, and always pay attention to their physical condition. Between the 24th and 34th week of pregnancy, pregnant women may experience premature labor, so they must adhere to regular prenatal check-ups and promptly consult a doctor if any signs of pre-labor bleeding or early labor symptoms appear.
"Holding him feels like holding a piece of tofu"
Every day, the amount of milk and fluid supplementation for the baby must be precisely prepared according to his weight. Therefore, the nurses first weigh the baby each day when taking over the shift. Since the baby's total blood volume is less than 50 milliliters, blood samples are only drawn under unavoidable circumstances and in strictly limited quantities. Even the loss of 0.5 milliliters of blood could be a significant blow to him.
According to reports, the daily necessary intravenous infusion for the baby not only poses a high technical difficulty but also inflicts trauma each time a needle is inserted. During each infusion, the nurse must operate inside the incubator, carefully inserting the needle into the baby's hair-thin veins while overcoming visual distortion. To reduce the trauma and infection caused by repeated punctures, apart from using specially designed electrocardiogram probes, on the third day of admission, the experts in the neonatology department successfully inserted a central venous catheter with an inner diameter of only 0.36 millimeters into the baby’s umbilical vein, through which medication and nutritional supplements are administered.
That evening, the baby was urgently transferred to the neonatology department of the Provincial Children's Hospital for rescue. "When the baby was brought in, he was about the size of an adult man's palm, with dry skin, weak heartbeat, and weak breathing," recalled a nurse in the isolation room. Everyone cautiously placed this premature infant into the isolation room, "Holding him felt like holding a piece of tofu, everyone was nervous." The following day, in the neonatal intensive care unit, when I saw the baby lying on his side in the incubator, his eyes were covered with gauze to prevent external strong light stimulation.
How to Prevent Having a Miniature Infant
Reported by Tang Jiangpeng, Correspondent Li Qi, Intern Tang Xue - Birth weight only 500 grams! His entire body appeared semi-transparent with clearly visible subcutaneous blood vessels; his whole body was only slightly larger than an adult's palm, with limbs as small as an adult's finger... Yesterday, in the isolation room of the Neonatal Department at the Provincial Children's Hospital, I saw a miniature infant named Xiao Xiao (alias) lying in the incubator, with various tubes attached to his body. Xiao Xiao is the first known case of a 500-gram miniature infant who survived after birth within the province, facing challenges such as breathing and nutrition right from birth.
Drinking milk, urinating, defecating, and breathing... These essential daily activities are arduous for Xiao Xiao. For this reason, the neonatology department of the Provincial Children's Hospital temporarily assigned four nurses to form a special care team, using the most primitive yet effective method of "one-on-one" care for Xiao Xiao.
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