The parents of a premature baby girl born at a leading hospital in Ajman are appealing for help. The parents had paid for a normal delivery self-pay package worth Dh8,000, but owing to the high bills of a premature delivery, they are now unable to meet the unexpected expenses.

The baby girl weighing 1.2kg was born to Indian expatriates Aliya Parveen and Syed Mahmoud Ali on July 2 at a hospital in Ajman. She was born at 31 weeks of gestation, almost a month before her due date. Although in the incubator, the baby is reported to be stable and gaining weight at the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital.

The baby’s grandmother, Fatima Shaheen, who flew in to help with the baby told Gulf News: “The baby was due in August, but was born premature. My daughter Aliya was married last year and this is her first child. We were all looking forward to it. She had taken a self-pay package of Dh8,000 for the delivery. But now the bills are likely to go up to Dh100,000 we were told.”

Shaheen who is a widow has no means of supporting her daughter and is praying for a miracle as her son-in-law does not have a job and Parveen is the only breadwinner. In the meantime the family is approaching charitable organisations to get a financial reprieve.

Parveen, works in the administration department of a nursery in Sharjah. Her husband Ali, who is on visit visa, is still in the process of looking for a job. She told Gulf News while she was so happy to have become a mother, she wasn’t prepared for this huge bill. “I had saved for a normal delivery, but now with the premature birth, I have no means to pay this huge amount.”

The neonatologist at the hospital confirmed that the baby girl’s current bills stood at Dh 51,000 and she was likely to stay at the hospital for at least three more weeks, which means the bills are likely to total up to Dh100,000. The hospital said the mother was discharged from the hospital and was given a discount.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS