Parents of triplets bear brunt of smog

New Delhi: A couple had the scare of their lives after their newly-born triplets developed respiratory complications due to air pollution in the national capital and had to be rushed to NICU, just two days after their birth.

The triplets were delivered in a healthy condition two weeks ago through IVF (in-vitro fertilization). However, they developed complications two days later due to the toxic air in the national capital after their parents took them to the balcony of their home.

The national capital’s air quality deteriorated in the second week of November when pollution levels spiked 30 times above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) safe limits as smog shrouded the city for at least seven days.

Dr Archana Dhawan Bajaj, gynaecologist, obstetrician, and IVF expert at Nurture IVF Centre, who helped deliver the babies, informed that the parents took the newborns to the balcony of their house once.

“Perhaps, at that point of time, smog hit them and the babies started facing some respiratory problems. They were rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and are currently under observation in a local hospital till they recover,” she said.

According to health experts, in the prevailing pollution emergency in Delhi, newborns are at a very high risk of contracting breathing-related ailments, while some are even saying that they are beginning their lives virtually as “smokers.”

According to experts, during the winters when air pollution spikes several times, parents should avoid touching newborns frequently.