fp Turks and Caicos

When little Gurell Chavaliet de Foreste grows up, he can proudly say he was born in Providenciales.

However, that probably would not of been the case had he arrived in the world four months earlier.

Baby Gurell was born six weeks prematurely at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre two weeks ago, something that would have been life threatening for both baby and mom just months ago.

Because the old Myrtle Rigby Medical Centre had only limited care for newborns, Yanilsa would have put her own life and that of her child in danger having an emergency birth on island, possibly requiring an expensive last-minute transfer to an off island medical facility. Even if her son had been born on island, Baby Gurell would have had to be immediately transferred overseas for specialist treatment.

Thanks to the new hospital’s state of the art maternity unit and expert medical staff, most premature babies are now both born and cared for on island, including little Gurell.

“I am so happy to have my beautiful son,” Yanilsa said. “It was very frightening to give birth so early, but everyone at the hospital has been so kind and caring.

“Had this happened before the new hospital, I could have lost my son and I, and many other new mothers, are grateful and happy that we have such a modern facility. Without it, my son may not have survived.”

After spending his first few days in a high dependency incubator, Gurell is now “doing fine” at home with his family in Five Cays, according to pediatrician Dr. Helen Leonard.

“Gurell is making very good progress,” explained Dr Leonard. “He was obviously very needy when he was first born, and our excellent facilities here meant that we were able to care for him without having to transfer off-island, which would have previously happened.

“In more extreme cases of prematurity — more than 9 weeks early — there will still be the need to seek specialist care elsewhere, but these are fortunately few and far between. But generally we can now offer all the care, attention, expertise and facilities required by premature babies and their mothers.

“This in turn saves so much upheaval for mother and baby, and it’s rewarding to see little ones like Gurell grow stronger and stronger every day, without that extra stress and inconvenience.”