590-g. newborn grows to healthy 6-kilo boy at 10 months

Prof. Eric Shinwell, head of the neonatal department, said baby's normal development was a “medical achievement.”

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
premature baby (photo credit: Kaplan Medical Center)
premature baby
(photo credit: Kaplan Medical Center)
A baby born severely premature and weighing only 590 grams at Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical Center was brought Sunday by his grateful parents to thank the hospital staff.
Prof. Eric Shinwell, head of the neonatal department, said Yonatan Amsalem’s normal development was a “medical achievement,” as his chances for this were no higher than 10 percent.
His 29-year-old mother Yael recalled that Yonatan, born after only 26 weeks in the womb (out of the normal 40), “looked like a doll that children play with.”
The fetus suffered from retarded growth in the uterus and poor respiratory function.
After he was born by emergency cesarean section because of septicemia that risked both the mother’s and baby’s life, he was on a respirator for two months. Today, he weighs more than 6 kilos.
Yonatan will continue to be under medical supervision.
Shinwell praised the parents for being full partners in his successful development, noting their calm attitude helped the medical team carry out the complicated mission to save his life.
Yael used the “kangaroo technique” to increase his chances for survival by holding the tiny baby skin to skin, so he would feel her warmth and hear her heartbeat.