Hospital Saves Two Infants After Critical Home Birth Complications

Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem successfully treated two infants in critical condition following complications from home births within the past two weeks. In the first case, an infant born at home was rushed to the hospital about an hour after birth due to severe distress. Doctors diagnosed the baby with asphyxia, a lack of blood supply to the brain, indicated by respiratory distress, a bluish skin tone, and abnormal neurological signs. The infant was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and connected to a brain wave monitor, which revealed seizures. A body cooling protocol was initiated to prevent secondary brain damage. The baby's condition has since stabilized and is being treated in the neonatal ward. Professor Smadar Eventov, head of neonatology at Hadassah, stated that immediate evaluation and resuscitation at the hospital could have prevented further brain damage.

Approximately a week later, a three-day-old infant was brought to the emergency room with massive bleeding detected in her diaper. Hospital doctors diagnosed the baby with shock, severe acidosis, and critically low hemoglobin levels, posing an immediate life threat. The infant was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. Lab tests revealed the bleeding was caused by a severe deficiency in Vitamin K, a crucial clotting factor usually administered to newborns worldwide immediately after birth. The parents had reportedly refused the vitamin. The neonatal intensive care team administered emergency treatment, including Vitamin K and blood products, until the infant's clotting functions stabilized and the bleeding stopped. Hospital officials described it as one of the most severe cases they have encountered due to this deficiency. The infant has since stabilized and been released home.