Newborn baby with rare defects shocks Nyamira medics

Baby born with rare defects shocks medics

The baby died within a day after birth following what medics described as multiple organ complications.

By Stanwicks

The baby that was born with rare defects
at the Nyamira County Referral Hospital.
Pic: Courtesy.

Medics at the Nyamira County Referral Hospital are in shock after birthing a baby with abnormal defects.

The baby had six fingers in each of its four limbs; abnormally big eye sockets and a single nasal opening.

The baby’s face too seemed swollen.

According to a medic who sought anonymity because of confidentiality of the parents and adherence to the hospital’s communication protocols, the baby was born on Saturday to parents with three other ‘normal’ kids.

Unfortunately, the newborn had only one day to live. It died shortly after 24 hours due to breathing difficulties as well as multiple organ challenges that could not have allowed it to live longer, according to the medic.

“The doctors had opined that the baby be transferred to a superior facility in Eldoret where it was to receive specialized care but the parents objected the proposal due to financial constraint they were in,” the medic said.

But what can make a child to be born with such defects?

Here are the possible reasons as explained by medical experts.

Some congenital defects can be as a result of numerous causes.
Pic: Courtesy

 Source: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Different birth defects have different causes, and the causes of many birth defects remain unknown.

A specific condition might be caused by one or more of the following primary problems:¹

• Genetic problems: One or more genes might have a change or mutation that results in them not working properly. Similarly, a gene or part of the gene might be missing.
• Chromosomal problems: In some cases, a chromosome or part of a chromosome might be missing. Especially when a female is missing an X chromosome. Other birth defects result from having an extra chromosome.
• Infections: Women who get certain infections during pregnancy are at higher risk for having a child with birth defects. For example, infection with Zika Virus during pregnancy is linked with the birth defect called microcephaly, in which the brain and skull are smaller than normal.

 

• Exposure to medications, chemicals, or other agents during pregnancy. The infants whose mothers took thalidomide are examples of an exposure leading to birth defects. Other examples include exposure to rubella (also called German measles) and toxic chemicals, such as hydrocarbons.