Given only a 10-15% chance of survival in the womb, baby Saif has now left the NICU happy and healthy!
When his mother Latifa was just 12 weeks pregnant, a scan identified her son had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) causing his bowel and liver to protrude into his thorax, the area of the body between the neck and the abdomen.
This rare condition occurs when the diaphragm—the muscle separating the chest from the abdomen—fails to close during prenatal development, causing other organs to press against the lungs.
“It was crushing,” Latifa said. “I was never going to give up on him and was willing to accept whatever God had planned for him, but it was a difficult journey. It does still feel like a dream.”
After being pressured with abortion time and time again, Latifa and her husband searched for a specialist who would value the life of their baby. This is when they found Dr. Mandeep Singh, who treats conditions of this sort.
“As the pregnancy advanced, it was clear that the defect was severe, and this had led to both lungs being severely compressed,” Dr. Singh said.
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“The chances of the baby surviving with such a serious defect are around 10-15 percent.”
“Their only hope was to undergo a complex in-utero procedure called Feto procedure (fetal endotracheal occlusion), in which a balloon is placed in the baby’s trachea using a fetoscope to encourage lung growth, ” Dr. Singh explained.
Baby Saif’s surgery was performed while he was still in his mother’s womb when Latifa was 27 weeks pregnant. Four days later, she began bleeding and losing amniotic fluid, requiring her to stay in the hospital for several more weeks.
Latifa went into labor at 32 weeks.
At this time, the medical team performed a second surgery called Exit (ex-utero intrapartum treatment), which allowed the baby to be partially delivered while still attached to the placenta. This provided Saif with oxygen from his mother while the team stabilized his breathing.
The balloon in his trachea was intentionally burst and a tube was inserted to help him breathe. Saif was then delivered and transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where he underwent a surgical repair of his diaphragm at just six days old.
“Seeing the entire medical team doing surgery for Saif in the NICU was overwhelming,” Latifa said. “Saif’s organs were so small that they needed a magnifying glass.”
Latifa and her husband traveled daily to see their new son.
“It was a challenging time. My husband and family supported me, giving me the confidence that this would pass,” she said.
“The hospital felt like a second family, providing us with compassionate care.”
After four and a half months in the hospital, baby Saif finally came home.
“This was truly a blessing. I can’t believe that after all this struggle, we will now go home,” Latifa said.
Praise God for Latifa and her husband, who chose Life in the face of a negative diagnosis. When presented with abortion, they knew that God’s plan was better! Join us in prayer for baby Saif, that he will continue to grow stronger and live a healthy life!
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