A baby born at just 23 weeks, more than 5,000 miles away from home, has finally gone home after 172 days in hospital.
Last October, Afua was in the US for a cousin’s wedding. She was also 23 weeks pregnant and 5,000 miles from her home in Ghana. Only three days into her trip, though, she began to feel unwell and had to be taken to the hospital. To everyone’s astonishment, she was already in labour and had to be transferred to a specialist neonatal care hospital.
When her baby, Akosua, was born, she weighed just 1lb 1oz. Because she was born so prematurely, baby Akosua had to fight to survive from the beginning. But from having pneumonia to being reintubated several times, she never gave up.
“Most of the time, you might have a partner to share this with, but my husband wasn’t around”, Afua said. “To have the nurses and the doctors just hug and say, ‘It will be okay,’ offered so much comfort”.
Even after her husband and toddler made their way to the hospital from the other side of the world, the siblings could not meet as baby Akosua was in isolation. The medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital, Dr Mariam Said, recalled Afua’s family being “a joy” when they came to visit.
“[Afua’s] whole family was just a joy. And one thing I will say about this unit in particular: This becomes a family”.
She added, “Even if you’re not here for 100 days, it really does become a family”.
But baby Akosua was there well over one hundred days, and with a feeding tube fitted, she was finally able to leave the hospital after almost six months.
“It’s a big decision to make. But at the same time, we know developmentally, being home with [her mum] 24/7 is the most beneficial thing”, Dr Said shared.
A few months later, baby Akosua is a whopping 9 lbs.
“We see lots of 23-week babies, and they don’t all have good outcomes”, said Dr Said. “I mean, she’s a real miracle”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Baby Akosua is yet another tiny miracle. Born far too early, but she never gave up. It seems as though stories like this one are becoming more and more common”.
