[sam_boy]

I wanted to write about this for a week but got delayed somehow. The below story is the toughest days of my life and lasted for 19 long days. Sorry for a lengthy post.

All of these started on 31st May when I took my wife for a regular pregnancy checkup to Manipal Hospital and we were shocked to know that her amniotic fluid content has increased by 3 times and the doctor needs to do a C section immediately. It was late evening and so the doctor told us to come next day morning (She was on her 37th week of pregnancy). I took my wife next day to Lotus Clinic Indiranagar for a scan and then headed straight to Manipal hospital. They took my wife to the Operation Theater by 10:00 AM and I was waiting eagerly for my child to come.

I was restless and anxiety hit the highest level around 10:45 AM. I was going up and down and by 11:00 clock a team of doctors came out with the baby in a glass box and called me inside the NICU. The first response was shocking for me. They said the baby is breathing fast and they don’t know the reason why, so they want to investigate and they will keep her on ventilator. From the word ventilator I got scared to death. They told me to sign a paper that I have seen the baby. In that shock I even forgot to ask it’s a baby boy or girl. Then they left the scene immediately and even I was not allowed to get in. After that I rushed in and asked the doc about the baby and he said it’s a baby girl. So, I won the bet which I put with my wifey from day 1 of her pregnancy. They told me to do the admission formality for the baby and I went to the ground floor to do the cashless facility for my baby. In all these, I forgot about my wife.

In 15 minutes, I completed her admission formality and went to see my wife. The nurse told they have given general anesthesia, so she will take around 3 hours to come to her senses. I have heard that in Manipal, they keep all the babies for the observation so I was bothered but not very much. I was telling my self all the time it is the marketing gimmick and my baby is doing fine. Now by 1:30 PM I was able to see my wife and again they transferred her to the maternity ward telling me that her blood pressure is high. All those days her BP was perfect 120/80. But they said after an operation it is normal. So, I thought ok, let her stay in the ward. After the delivery she was still in the room amidst of the loud cries of all the mother- to-bes in the maternity ward. Then I asked them what is the difference, if they keep her in the ward rather than keeping her in the maternity ward. The answer was everything is done in the maternity ward on a war foot but things are slow in the ward. I came to know later that there were no rooms available in the ward. Wah re Manipal …

I went to see my baby again at 7:00 PM and came to know that fathers are only allowed to go to the NICU between 7:00 PM- 7:30 PM. It was 7:00 in my watch when I wanted to go there but the security lady there behaved as if she is the security in-charge for the president of India and said the time in the watch in the NICU is 6:45 (her watch showed 7:00), so I can enter only after 15 minutes. What a helpless father can do? I waited for 15 more minutes then I found my baby in the last row and with a big pipe around her nose (it is called C-Pap) and some measuring instruments around her body. The junior doctor told me that she has pneumonia and they are treating her for that. I told him to show me the ventilator and he said she was never on ventilator but they are providing breathing support to her by the C-Pap with oxygen pressure around 40. Pneumonia word scared me again as my sister had it in January back in Delhi where she was hospitalized for 10 days. But the soothing news was there was no ventilator, I came back but thought how the senior doc told me that they are putting her on ventilator? Again I went back and asked another doctor the same question. Is she on ventilator? The answer was No. She is on C-Pap. I immediately remembered many posts regarding Manipal hospital in various forums.

Now the toughest part how to tell my wife that my baby is in this condition? I shifted her to room number 510. The room was not neat and I was frustrated but what to do? Do I have a choice? No... My wife said it is just a matter of 2-3 days and once the child comes we will forget everything and all the things will look good. I sighed. Then I told her our baby is having cold so they have kept her under observation and they are giving her formula milk and she is fine.

My mother-in-law stayed with my wife in the room and I headed towards the lounge and spent the night there paying 150 Rs. Only one person is allowed to stay with the patient in the ward). There is a counseling session by the senior doctors in the NICU for the parents from 10:30-11 AM everyday, so next morning I again went there. Goshhhh ..
wait again … It started at 11:25 AM. The saddest part was many mothers who delivered the babies barely days ago were also standing there and there was not even a single chair there. Finally I met with the senior doc ( different from the one who was there last day) and he said they are giving antibiotics to the baby and she has responded to that and her oxygen requirements have reduced, and he asked if possible to get the mother’s milk for the baby and deliver it in NICU. I told my wife that the baby has improved and they will discharge her soon. She wanted to see the baby, so I told one of the nurses to take her to the baby. Mothers are allowed in the NICU between 11 AM-11 PM. One of the support staff came and took her to the NICU, after 15 minutes when she came there was no one to take her up. The people there told me some one needs to come from the 5th floor (where the room is) to take her up. I called them and said so. I waited for 10 minutes no one turned up. My wife, an operated lady was just sitting on the wheel chair after seeing the baby and was just crying. I could not hold it anymore and I took her to the lift and to the room. When I asked them why not they sent some one, they said it is the time when the shifts change, so there was no one available. I felt like I should bang my head in the wall.

My wife got discharged after 2 days from the hospital, but things did not change in the NICU. Everyday the doctors told me the C-Pap is on and she is slowly responding to the medication. On the 4th day I asked the senior doctor for how many days they are planning to keep the baby and he said he does not know. His answer was “Pray to God for her speedy recovery”. Then I thought if I had to do this then I should have taken her to the Lord Siva’s temple in Kempfort not to Manipal. The receptionist called me and handed me a bill of 90K for 4 days and told me “Sir don’t worry we have sent this to your insurance company. I came back home.
My wife, despite of the C-section used to go twice everyday to Manipal. I stay in Brookefields so its around 10 Kms from the hospital. I understood that now she is a mother and it would be hard for me to stop her. Well… things went on like this for a week and on the 8th day the doctor told me that they have removed the C-Pap from the baby and they want to see how she reacts. Well there was no bound for my happiness. I thought finally my baby has won it. I came back home and I arranged the room for my baby girl and went to the hospital at the father’s time (remember it’s only from 7-7:30 PM) in the afternoon. I was shocked to see one more pipe around her nose. I ran to the doctor and asked what the hell that pipe is for again? He said they are just providing her a little support and that is nothing to worry. I came home with the heads down and did not enter into the room which I arranged for her in the morning. The next day was the same only difference was the addition of approximately 15-20K to the bill. On the 11th day they said they have removed all the support and the baby is doing fine. I said to me not to be happy and just wait and watch. On the 12th day when we met the doctor he said again they have put the small pipe with oxygen as her body demanded it. My wife was crying helplessly all these days and she cried the maximum that day. I somehow consoled her telling that it’s not a fatal thing but she is just taking time to come home.

The story for the next 3 days are no different other than the bill and the doctors told us everyday in those late counseling sessions that they are giving just air to the baby. (One of them said hum bachhi ko hawa de rahe hein .. meine socha abbey bachhi ko de rahe ho ki uski bapu ko ??)
It was an ultimate test of my patience. I was getting 3 dozens of call from all the family members and friends asking about her. One common question was how long the doctors told to keep her? I used to go crazy at this question …. The doc is not telling me anything how can I answer??

On the 15th day they again said the will remove all the pipes. I said to my wife that we will not tell any one about this and we won’t expect anything. That night we went again and she was doing fine without the oxygen. I did not ask the doctors anything. The next day the senior doc said if she will not need anymore oxygen then next day they will shift her to the ward. I was still not expecting anything.

The night before my wifey had sever acidity problems and vomited thrice and was not able to even walk. So I did not want her to travel twice and I requested one of the junior doctors to discharge the bay from the NICU to the ward. He after speaking to the senior doctor agreed to discharge but told me to check for the availability of the rooms in the ward. I ran at my highest speed to the admission counter to see a big guy at the counter with the worst possible body language. I asked him for the special room (last time the room was also in the special category). He said one room is there but that was painted on the same day. If I am ok to stay with the smell of the paint then he can give me. I said a flat no as my baby was coming out from a respiratory problem. I asked for a room in the other ward and he said the rule is for neo-natal cases they can not allocate a room in other floors. I don’t know how far this is true as my neighbor stayed in 8th floor when he had his baby. Then I asked for a deluxe room which was priced 2K more than the special one. He said if I take that then all my baby’s bills for the last 16 days will be changed to the deluxe category. Till that time the bills were around 2.2 Lacs and I did not want it to revise to become 4 lacs. So I requested him for a twin sharing room. (At that moment the only thing was in my mind was to take my daughter out of the NICU and make the mother and the kid stay together and I was ready to compromise on anything). The big guy gave me a bad smile and said “Sir there is no vacancy”. I almost had a heart attack.

In all these days I came to know few father’s who were just waiting to see their child and for the counseling sessions. Few of us shared phone numbers too. One of those dads called me that time and he said his baby got discharged yesterday from NICU and they are in a twin sharing room and the other person’s baby in his room is going home today. Eureka... I said hold on I am coming there now with my baby. This guy who called me belongs to my state Orissa and me, wifey were comfortable with him and his wife. So I ran again to the big guy at the counter and said “Saaaaaar room number 506 has a vacancy and give it to me”. He just checked few things in his machine and asked me how do you know?? I said “God told me”.

Finally my baby came to the ward at night 11 PM ( After 4 hours from booking the ward). 2 more days in the ward and my wife had sessions with the good for nothing lactation specialists and many other specialists and finally my baby was home after 19 long days ……. The total bill for her is 2.5 lacs and for the mother I had to spend 70K. I have some complications in the Insurance policy and I am yet to follow up with them.

It was just Sai Baba’s blessings which gave me energy to withstand all these and I am thankful to him he gave our baby in our hands.

I do not know if

1. It was required to keep my baby in the hospital for 19 days.
2. It could have been treated sooner in other hospitals.
3. I could have spent less money
4. I could have been less tired.

This is just to summarize the horrible experience.

Few pros of Manipal hospital:

1. They have all the modern equipments in their hospital.
2. The way they track things are wonderful.
3. Nurses in the NICU are very caring and gentle.
4. The way doctors team up in NICU is wonderful.
5. They are able to handle anything at anytime.
6. Doctors like Arvind Shenoi.

Few cons:

1. The hospital needs cleaning.
2. It’s very expensive.
3. Doctors need to understand the sentiments of the parents/partners too.
4. The quality of nurses in the ward is sub-standard.
5. Absolutely no communication and co-ordination between different departments.
6. The staff needs to be caring and they need a quick PR-101.
7. Everything is driven on money.

At this moment, I am praying to God this should not happen to any one on earth and truly these were the toughest 19 days of my life.

Thanks,
Sam_Boy

[reddy6980]

Hi Sam_Boy,

I really understand what u would have gone thru. But the good part is ur princess is healty.

I had the same situation some months back.

I and my wife like u had gone for a routine check up in the first week of september, the baby was diagonized with ebstein's anomaly a very rare heart problem. We where refered to Srinivasa diagonstice center in bsavangudi. The doctor there confirmed the same.
Since the polyhyramos fulid(Guess the spelling and the term are correct) was high, a C Section was performed. The baby was in the NICU for 2 weeks, the first 3 days he had heart and liver failure.
After discharge we went to narayana hrudayalaya, doctors there confirmed that it was a major problem and asked us to come back after 3 months.

When we went after 3 months the doctors told that a operation is a must, 2 operations where perforemd and the baby dischgred after 1 month.

He is hail and health now.

This is a brief overview because i dont want to remeber those days.

Thanks,
Vamsi

[Gilead]

sam boy, a baby's lungs mature only in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy. If it's a planned early operation, they usually administer drugs to the mom to speed up the process but I guess there was no time in your wife's case. My kid was born in the 37th week too in an emergency operation and the doctors said she may have to be in the ICU if the lungs are not mature. But luckily for us, her lungs were mature and she came out screaming her lungs off.

I think the hospital did a good thing by keeping the baby in the ICU and making sure she got enough oxygen. They essentially kept her till the 40th week, that's all. The lungs would have been mature by then. Insufficient oxygen can do great harm to a baby's brain. You will soon forget this experience and have a great time with your kid. Enjoy her baby days when she is helpless as she will grow up very quickly and start giving you nightmares of a different kind.

Your pros and cons hold good for even Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, supposedly one of the best in the country. Money is everything. But I still feel the quality of healthcare in India is much better than in the West where you have to take an appointment weeks in advance for an MRI or even a dental visit.

[deepakhon]

sam boy, you really had a harrowing time there. But, all is well and that ends well. Forget about the ordeal and enjoy your days with the little angel. I wish her a long and a healthy life.

[lambuhere1]

Sam Boy

Give our love to Little Angel. She's Strong enough to fight this world.

God Bless her.

And Bhaiyna, Nazar utarna math bhoolna Please

[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by Gilead

sam boy, a baby's lungs mature only in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy. If it's a planned early operation, they usually administer drugs to the mom to speed up the process but I guess there was no time in your wife's case. My kid was born in the 37th week too in an emergency operation and the doctors said she may have to be in the ICU if the lungs are not mature. But luckily for us, her lungs were mature and she came out screaming her lungs off.

Well from what I got to know from the doctors, her lungs were formed properly but there were infections. So, they were trying to remove the infections by giving antibiotics.

I understand the importance of the oxygen to the body but the only thing is that with the same complaint few babies moved out of the NICU in 2 days ... Well my baby is definitely a special one.

Originally Posted by deepakhon

sam boy, you really had a harrowing time there. But, all is well and that ends well. Forget about the ordeal and enjoy your days with the little angel. I wish her a long and a healthy life.

Thanks for your wish and blessings deepakhon.

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Sam Boy

Give our love to Little Angel. She's Strong enough to fight this world.

God Bless her.

And Bhaiyna, Nazar utarna math bhoolna Please

Bhaina .. A sweet reply indeed. She will be behind the wheels soon.

Nazar din mein do baar utar rahein hein .. Her granny's mom is there at home so she is taking care of this.

[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by reddy6980

Since the polyhyramos fulid(Guess the spelling and the term are correct) was high, a C Section was performed. The baby was in the NICU for 2 weeks, the first 3 days he had heart and liver failure.

He is hail and health now.
Thanks,
Vamsi

Vamsi,
Great to know that your boy is doing great now. These were really tough days and you need the skin of a rhino to pass through these days.

The condition of high amniotic fluid is called polyhydramnios which caused all these problems in mycase. It caused a lot of discomfort to the mother too. Sadly, the doctors never administered any drugs to her. The main reason to have polyhydramnios is diabetes but in my wife is not diabetic nor any one in my family. When I googled I found 65% of the times the reasons for polyhydramnios is unknown.

My child is fine .. so just want to forget all these things.

Wish you baby boy lots of strength and good health.

Thanks,
Sam_Boy

[jeeva]

Samboy,
We too had been through a similar phase, a month back.
Wifey was crossing the 8th month of pregnancy and one fine day the Amnioitc fluid started leaking. The level had become so low that the doctor wanted to do a C section immidiately. Injections and medicines were administered for the baby's lungs to develop. Things started to become normal once again in a span of 8 hours. By gods grace, it was a normal delivery and our baby Aditi came to this world.
We were in a relatively small hospital in a town in Wayanad/Kerala. We shifted her in an Ambulance to a bigger hospital in Calicut. It was my wish that the first automobile my baby touches should be my Bullet and the Bolero..but then, it made no sense. Aditi was in the NICU for a week. It was a similar story as yours: the most dreadful days of my life. I went weak on my knees to see the doctors administer injections to my baby.
Now things are all fine. The baby and mother are doing good at home. Aditi has started smiling these days. My mother says she will be just as naughty as I was, if not more.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by sam_boy

Well from what I got to know from the doctors, her lungs were formed properly but there were infections. So, they were trying to remove the infections by giving antibiotics.

What was her Apgar score at 5 minutes and 30 minutes? It must be there in the discharge summary. 7-10 is normal. Babies with an initial low score are usually kept under observation for a longer period just to be on the safer side.

[lohithrao]

Sam that was a bad experience but glad that all ended well! btw Insurance is provided by the company or you have taken it up? which one?

[ElantraGT]

Sam,

Congrats on becoming a proud father. I am sure your angel is going to be a tough and healthy one when she grows up. I can understand what you went through is hell. I had my share of anxious moments when we had a baby boy. Dont worry about the past, just take care of your kid and life goes on. She is special so keep that in mind and move away from the past. Cherish each and every moment that you spend with her. That makes a lot of difference in life.

[gkrishn]

Congrats... daughters always rocks!!!

Originally Posted by sam_boy

Few cons:

1. The hospital needs cleaning.
2. It’s very expensive.
3. Doctors need to understand the sentiments of the parents/partners too.
4. The quality of nurses in the ward is sub-standard.
5. Absolutely no communication and co-ordination between different departments.
6. The staff needs to be caring and they need a quick PR-101.
7. Everything is driven on money.

I agree with almost every point above. At some places, the hospital looks like a dungeon. The staff are very rude. But few kerala nurses managing the rooms were really courteous.

My wife also went thru early c-section. Our daughter was delivered one month early and was just 2.2kgs. But thankfully, the doctor(dr. gayathri karthik) anticipated this had administered steroids. So the baby was fully mature when delivered. Still she was in nicu(in the same manipal) for about 2 days. I really dont want to double guess a doctor, but i felt that was unnecessary. Normally it is just a 12hour observation. Or so i read in internet.

For those 2 days, i just about 30-40 mins with my daughter. It was mentally very tiring. I can as well understand the agony u had gone thru these 19 days.

I felt that your post was, overall, little harsh on manipal. They have too much of crowd to handle. And when the issue is serious, the relatives get really really angry. I saw one family fighting and shouting with staff(in charge of allotting rooms), as room was not available. It looked like a pretty serious case. They face such high intensity issues almost daily.

Only following things i expect them to improve...
1. Their staffs(not doctors) can be little bit more courteous. Esp the bunch which used to sit in the maternity scanning section.
2. The price can be reasonable. In one instance they outright tried to fleece me(ent...). Took a second opinion and managed to escape. But this cant be done all the time.
3. The hospital looks old and ragged. They need to fix this. Some of upper floors(we stayed in 6th floor) was pretty good though.

[rkg]

Cardinal Principle: If possible avoid manipal at any costs

The moment one says he has insurance manipal will ensure to get the bill to max . It happened to two/three of my friends.

Manipal does not have any of the so called specialists on their rolls. All the specialists listed are consultants not employees of Manipal.

I had bitter experience with them which i listed in other thread in this forum. They administered Ibugesic syrup to my son even after i told them he was asthamatic. i was told they gave Nimuslide. but they never mentioned what medicines they gave in case sheet (unethical, can be caught later if the boy condition is deteriorated so they did not mentioned it).

they have put all kinds of pressure on to me admit him stating he was suffering with dengue the made me to sign DAMAS ( dispatch against medical advice) to relieve him. I signed got him dispatched took him home. he is fine and doing well

All this was done when i took him there for simple saline/dextrose administration as he was having vomition and loose motions . Instead of giving fluids to the boy they were busy trying to extract blood from him for their studies . they billed Rs 800/= for miscellaneous exp in addition to regular expenses( they could not explain what these misc. exp. are)

[nirmaljusdoit]

Sam boy, congrats on your princess !!

I found Manipal to be quite a con job, initially we were visiting the gynie there & we shifted from there to Mallya. (Dr. Desai)

It was a very pleasant experience at Mallya (Dr. Prathima REddy) & i found the nurses (extremely helpful) & staff (though overworked) quite fine.
In fact i praise the labor room staff & Dr. Reddy who were most patient & accommodating. They even gave me & wifey so many tender coconuts as the delivery was stretching for 12 hours & lunch etc.(Which they didn't bill me for !) Doctor refused a cesarean even though my wife was asking for it

Many hospitals give all sorts of flimsy reasons to perform a caesarean so they can charge heavenly prices. These unscrupulous doctors use medical jargon which most of the time we don't understand & which sounds convincing, so we just agree.


The hospital is clearly operating at 125% of capacity, too much rush :( Room was OK, & surprisingly even the security guards were quite patient.


My insurance bills were cleared in just 2 hours & we were free to go, without even reminding them or using any influence.

[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by Gilead

What was her Apgar score at 5 minutes and 30 minutes? It must be there in the discharge summary. 7-10 is normal. Babies with an initial low score are usually kept under observation for a longer period just to be on the safer side.

The discharge summary lists the Apgar score as 7&8 but they have mentioned that it had developed subcoastal retractions .. I am sorry but do not understand the meaning of it.

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Sam that was a bad experience but glad that all ended well! btw Insurance is provided by the company or you have taken it up? which one?

I have done the cashless admission from m wife's insurance account. (we both work for the same organization). The policy s ucks big time. They have given the mother and baby a total of 1.5 lacs. I am claiming the remaining money from my insurance which almost covers the expense.

Originally Posted by ElantraGT

Sam,

Congrats on becoming a proud father.

Cherish each and every moment that you spend with her. That makes a lot of difference in life.

Thanks .. We are trying to spend maximum time with her and talk to her a lot. Relaxed a bit finally.

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

The hospital is clearly operating at 125% of capacity, too much rush :( Room was OK, & surprisingly even the security guards were quite patient.

I have no complaints for the staff in NICU but the staff in the ward are not up to the mark. They poked my baby 10 times before changing the vein pump. I was not at all happy with many things like that and there were lot of fathers who shared similar feelings.