Medical teams at Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center saved the lives of two babies over the past two weeks who were born in planned home births and arrived at the hospital in serious condition.

In the first case, a baby was rushed to the pediatric emergency department just an hour after birth, suffering from asphyxia—a lack of blood supply to the brain. His parents noticed that he was in severe distress and called Magen David Adom, which transported him to the hospital.

Emergency room staff and the head of the Department of Neonatology identified respiratory distress, bluish skin and an abnormal neurological condition.

In the neonatal intensive care unit, the baby was connected to brain-wave monitoring equipment, which indicated that he was experiencing a seizure. Doctors decided to cool his body to prevent secondary brain injury.

The baby’s condition has since stabilized, and he remains under treatment in the neonatal unit.

Prof. Smadar Even-Tov, director of Hadassah’s Department of Neonatology, stressed that had the baby been born in a hospital, he would have received an immediate assessment and rapid resuscitation treatment to prevent further brain damage.

A second incident occurred ten days ago. A baby girl born in a planned home birth was urgently brought by her parents to the emergency room at Hadassah Mount Scopus three days after she was born, after they discovered a large amount of blood in her diaper.

Pediatricians determined that the baby was in life-threatening condition, suffering from shock, severe acidosis, and extremely low hemoglobin levels. At the direction of the head of Hadassah’s Neonatology Division, she was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Tests revealed that the bleeding had been caused by a vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K, which is essential for preventing bleeding and is routinely administered to every baby after birth, had not been given to her due to her parents’ decision.

The neonatal intensive care team, which described it as one of the most severe cases of vitamin K deficiency it had treated, saved the baby’s life by administering vitamin K and blood products, which brought the bleeding to a halt.

The baby girl recovered from the immediate danger and was discharged home.

The hospital stressed that vitamin K has been routinely administered to newborns in Israel and around the world for decades immediately after birth in order to prevent extremely dangerous bleeding.

The neonatal intensive care team saved the baby’s life with treatment that included vitamin K and blood products, leading to a significant improvement in her blood-clotting function until the bleeding stopped. The team stressed that it was one of the most severe cases it had treated resulting from a vitamin K deficiency.

After recovering from the immediate danger, the baby girl was discharged home following the completion of the life-saving treatment.

The hospital stressed that vitamin K has been routinely administered to newborns in Israel and around the world for decades immediately after birth in order to prevent extremely dangerous bleeding.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)