Visakhapatnam: A newborn girl, born with Rh incompatibility, was discharged from the state-run King George Hospital (KGH) on Tuesday after spending 56 days in intensive care. A team of specialists worked together to treat the infant in the hospital’s neonatal ICU.
KGH Superintendent Dr. P. Sivananda reported that M. Sunitha, wife of Vishnu Murthy, gave birth to the baby girl on June 18 at the KGH labor room.
“The baby was diagnosed with Rh incompatibility, a condition that arises when a mother has Rh-negative blood and her baby has Rh-positive blood. If untreated, this can lead to serious complications for the newborn. The baby weighed just 1.6 kg at birth,” Dr. Sivananda explained. The attending pediatrician immediately recognized the critical nature of the baby’s condition and recommended her transfer to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Dr. B.S. Chakravarthy, Dr. Sathya Kumari, and their team, including doctors, nurses, and support staff, provided continuous care to save the baby’s life. Dr. Sivananda noted that such treatment in a private hospital could have cost between Rs 50 to 60 lakhs. During her 56-day stay, the baby received costly medications and multiple blood transfusions.
The baby’s father, Vishnu Murthy, expressed his gratitude to Dr. Sivananda and the hospital staff. “We are deeply thankful to the superintendent, doctors, nurses, and staff for saving our baby’s life,” he said.
An incident during the baby’s transfer to the NICU on June 18 had sparked concerns of medical negligence after a video posted on social media showed Vishnu Murthy carrying the oxygen cylinder and the baby himself. However, Murthy later clarified that he took this action out of anxiety, and no hospital staff had compelled him to do so.
