Mjumbai’s Wockhardt Hospitals launched “MIRACLE”-a State-of-the-Art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to address newborn and child health problems in Mira Road and its surrounding areas.

Miracle provides an umbrella of care under one roof with 20 beds. NICU will offer comprehensive care for babies having structural abnormalities, infections, heart problems, and birth defects.

The hospital said that PICU will provide comprehensive services and care to children with various medical and surgical conditions.

 The hospital said that new-born babies who may need monitoring and medical care immediately after birth are kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) while children who require medical or surgical care to critically ill infants, children are admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Those babies kept in the NICU are premature with low birth weight, breathing trouble, heart problem, infection like sepsis or birth defect, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) which need utmost care. Preterm babies have immature respiratory systems, temperature control problems due to less fat and immature skin, digestion problems because of immature intestines, and they are also at risk of having infections.

Equipped with state-of–the-art infrastructure and advanced technology, the NICU at Wockhardt MamaCare, Mira Road strives to provide best care for sick and premature babies. It has specially-trained healthcare professionals to provide round-the-clock care to these babies.

It has 24x7 availability of intensivists, round-the-clock monitoring, backup of other Pediatric Superspecialities, Level 3 NICU with step down and KMC (Kangaroo Mother Care) ward and special stay facility for mothers of NICU babies.

PICU provides State-of-the-art ventilator, High frequency oscillating ventilators, Renal Replacement Therapy like CRRT, HD, Peritoneal Dialysis, ExtraCorporeal Life support, Post operative and Post transplant care, Negative Pressure Isolation.

Dr. Nitu Mundhra, Consultant Neonatologist and Lactation Expert, Wockhardt Hospitals, said, “The goal of each pregnancy is a healthy baby and happy parents. The birth of a baby is a wonderful and complex process. After delivery, a baby needs to get adjusted to the new environment. In some cases, the baby may have trouble adapting to these changes, also some babies are born premature and low birth weight.”

“The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), is a special area for newborn babies who need extra care. In NICU, we try to simulate the same environment, where the baby was there for 9 months till the baby is able to adapt to the external environment. In some cases, the baby may have trouble adapting to these changes,” Dr Mundhra added.

He pointed out that sick newborn care including extreme preterm and ELBW (Extreme low birth weight babies), prolonged conventional & advanced ventilation including HFOV,  Surfactant therapy (LISA),  iNO (inhaled Nitric Oxide) Therapy for complex PPHN, neonatal surgical intervention Bedside ECHO and UltraSonography, whole body cooling for hypoxic brain injury, transport incubator, advanced high-frequency ventilators monitors, comprehensive high risk obstetric service, dedicated labour OT, and multidisciplinary Super Speciality backup,  breathing aids and other equipment will help the babies to achieve developmental milestones of their age.