Baby Born Weighing 400 Grams Discharged at 3.5 Kgs

Born Weighing 400 Grams only at 5 and a half months, baby Jeremy Tubula left Kenyatta national hospital yesterday, 28^th August 2019, amid cheers and songs of praise, weighing 3.5 kilograms, nine times his birth weight.

Born to Catherine Joy Nkune and James Narikae, baby Jeremy marks history in Kenya as the second baby to survive after being born at 24 weeks and at 400grams only.

The first baby to survive at 400 grams of birth weight was baby Hope Obonyo who was born eight years ago at the same Kenyatta Referral Hospital facility.

The birth of baby Jeremy Tubula came about when his mother began spotting and her gynecologist booked her at the KNH in a bid to save her baby.

Four months before the normal pregnancy period of 40 weeks which is nine months, baby Jeremy Tubula was born, on 1^st April 2019, weighing a mere 400 grams, too premature for survival in normal circumstances.

For five months, Kenyatta Referral Hospital was the home baby Jeremy Tubula knew in the company of his mother Joy Nkune while his father, James Narikae had to make daily visits to the facility, all that changed yesterday, 28^th August, as the chubby Jeremy left KNH for his home.

Baby Jeremy’s parents held together tightly as his siblings thronged around in excitement, his eyes shone obviously detecting the positive energy that surrounded him.

“Today I can hold him without any fear like before. I didn’t know whether I would find him alive or dead,” Jeremy’s mother reveals with a smile.

The KNH staff joined together to celebrate the facility’s milestone in nurturing baby Jeremy, with the CEO Dr. Evanson Kamuri, joining in.

“We are proud of the specialized level of care especially to newborn babies we guarantee an up to date status. We want to encourage mothers to adhere to antenatal clinic check-up to help reduce maternally and child mortality,” Dr. Kamuri said.

The recommended weight for a newborn is at least 2.5 kilograms at 38 weeks to 42 weeks maximum.

Any baby born weighing below 2.5 kilograms is termed a Pre-term baby and is often required to stay longer in the hospital for incubation which helps in ensuring required temperatures to encourage faster growth.