Born at 6 months, twins doing fine

KOLKATA: In a rare instance, premature twins born at 26 weeks have survived in a city hospital. After three weeks of intensive care and treatment, the twins both boys have recuperated sufficiently and will be released on Thursday.

Twins born earlier than 28 weeks have a mortality rate of 90%. In this case, the babies were kept in a ventilator till they matured outside their mother's womb.

"Both were in a very serious condition. Usually, one of the two fails to survive in such cases so we were extremely careful. Fortunately, both are doing well now," said Shantanu Ray, paediatrician at Woodlands Hospital where the twins are now under treatment.

Born to Rimpa Ray Chaudhury of Behala on October 15, the twins were shifted to Woodlands three days after their birth and immediately put on ventilator.

"They were kept on ventilator for three days to make sure that their vital organs like the lungs matured fast enough. Initially, they were fed through nasal tubes but now we are feeding them normally," added Ray.

Some twins are born before term due to premature rupturing of the membranes. Some mothers have a weak cervix or other pregnancy related health issues which can only be resolved by an early caesarean.

"Sometimes, there is a slowing of growth, a massive increase in the amount of amniotic fluid. In such cases, babies stand a greater chance of survival with a premature delivery instead of being left in the womb," said Ray.

(Edit:Ruby)