The Neonatology Department offers humane, personalised care focused on the development of the infant

At the beginning of the 2000s, the number of admissions to the Neonatology Department increased, a trend that had already begun in the 1990s. The reason: the increase in the survival rate of children who previously had no chance of surviving.  
 
The 1980s had brought important changes to the department at Vall d’Hebron, when it was reorganised and divided into the Infant Department, headed by Dr Alfred Gallart, and the Neonatology Department, headed by Dr Gregorio Peguero, which in turn led to the unification of the ICUs for premature and pathological newborns. In addition, and also in the 1980s, Dr Lluis Cabero gave a great boost to perinatology or maternal-foetal medicine at the Hospital, achieving very good outcomes in terms of survival, which led to an increase in the number of high-risk pregnancies attended. 
 
At that time, if a newborn needed intubation or was born prematurely at less than 28 weeks, the prognosis was not good. The monitoring of the oxygen saturation of the patients or the use of surfactant (one of the great therapeutic revolutions of the speciality) that were initiated at that time are milestones that have allowed for a significant improvement in survival. 
 
In little more than a decade, they had gone from having simple monitors, incapable of detecting patients’ shallow breathing, to ventilators with alarms that monitored lung function. However, the most important thing is that the foetus was recognised as a patient. Prenatal diagnosis was introduced, facilitating foetal interventions. Foetal maturation and prophylaxis against streptococcus became widespread, and births increased, as did their complexity, which led to an increase in intensive care beds.  
 
Between 2005 and 2007, the new neonatal ICU was created, located on the semi-basement floor of the Children’s Hospital, and the second floor, brighter and with views, is where conventional hospitalisation patients or those no longer requiring intensive surveillance are admitted. A further milestone was the creation of the new “Com a casa” Family Neonatology Unit, in 2022, which promotes the recovery of premature babies and full-term babies with chronic and complex pathologies. 
 
Technology has become more sophisticated in recent decades, with more effective treatments appearing and the lives being saved of many children who a few years ago would not have had a chance of surviving. Such is the case of Lídia, who was born in 1992 with congenital heart disease. She underwent surgery to correct the congenital defect and in 2022 she gave birth to a baby girl at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital. Dr Félix Castillo, current head of the Neonatology Department and who was in charge of the Department at the time, is now the baby’s paediatrician.  

Anuk's struggle 

Anuk was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, which is an orifice in the diaphragm through which the intestines, the spleen and the stomach are pushed into the thoracic cavity, also causing the displacement of the heart from its natural position. It was 2018. “We were living in Vall d’Aran when, during the seventh month of pregnancy, the doctors detected the malformation. They informed us that it was a very serious condition and that we would have to move to Barcelona so that our son could be born at Vall d’Hebron and receive the appropriate treatment from the moment of birth,” explains Iosu, Anuk’s father. 
 
They were in Barcelona for a month and a half until Anuk was born on 9 November. “They had already explained to us that there could be many complications, and on the second day of his life they told us that the prognosis was very serious and that it was very likely that he would not survive”, recalls Iosu. They placed Anuk on ECMO, when he was just two days old.  “Anuk’s veins were as thin as cigarette paper, but they were able to connect him. Even so, everything was still going badly. They couldn’t operate. He was very weak. Finally, they were able to operate on him after about 20 days.” 
 
Anuk’s parents spent between 12 and 14 hours at the hospital together and then they went home together, which, in their case, was to a friend’s house, to rest. But they were warned that they should always be near the phone. “It was really hard, because we had a lot of stressful days and we weren’t resting properly,” explains Iosu. “Despite everything, we always felt the support of all the healthcare staff at the centre, who took great care of us and helped us a lot.” 
 
Anuk was discharged on Christmas Day and they were able to return home. Once at home, his parents administered the medication he needed and they were only supposed to return to Vall d’Hebron every six months for check-ups. However, when the boy was a few months old and everything seemed to be going well, he suffered an intestinal obstruction as a result of adhesions that had formed after the surgery. “He had to be taken by helicopter to Vall d’Hebron Hospital. They operated, they removed them all and we went home again.” 
 
“Anuk is now a completely normal boy, with great physical strength, he skis, he snowboards... He is a smart, happy child who enjoys everything to the fullest. He is a real champ,” says a very delighted Iosu. “This experience has changed the way we see things. We feel privileged to have received such excellent medical care.  Everyone on the neonatal team is like a guardian angel to us. They will have our eternal gratitude.”