A neonatologist at Sharp Community Medical Group, Dr. Anup Katheria, has used his expertise to save the life of an infant born three months prematurely. The child's parents shared their experience at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns.
Dr. Katheria, who is also the director of the Neonatal Research Institute and works at Sharp Mary Birch hospital, believes that immediate actions taken after a baby's birth can have a significant impact on their survival and quality of life. He stated, "When a baby is first born, what you do in those first few seconds of life can have a huge impact on not only whether that baby will survive but also how well that baby will live". He further added, "If I’m able to give that baby the right therapies when they start taking their first breath, maybe they’ll have less brain injury and fewer lung problems and heart problems by getting things situated in those first couple of minutes."
Katheria has been published in both the Journal of Pediatrics and Journal of the American Medical Association. His dedication towards his work is evident in his words: "We’re always looking to improve care for everything that we do, and looking at what evidence we can use to change practice." In an effort to improve newborn health outcomes, Katheria and his team have introduced several strategies such as squeezing the umbilical cord to provide extra blood to infants, performing resuscitation on babies losing oxygen, and keeping infants attached to the umbilical cord for longer periods.
Lizzy Garvin discovered she was suffering from cervical incompetence - a condition where the cervix cannot remain closed during pregnancy - when she was 24 weeks pregnant. This led her to give birth three months prematurely. Despite being born weighing just one pound and six ounces, her baby survived thanks to Dr. Katheria and his team at Sharp Mary Birch. Clint Garvin, Lizzy's husband, expressed his gratitude: "I think we owe Zoey’s life to all of these people doing their work, and if our experience can help even one other family, it’s the least we can do. It’s a small way to say thank you for everything they’ve done for her."
The research conducted by Katheria and his team has been made possible through donations from the Alexander and Eva Nemeth Foundation and federal grants. Speaking about the support received, Katheria said: "Birth doesn’t happen only from 9 to 5. It happens at 3 in the morning, and you need someone there to enroll the patient and to talk to the families about our research studies. The Sharp HealthCare Foundation has supported us to give us overnight coverage."
