Centre of excellence for newborn care in Uganda

At just 725 grams, Agwang’s baby lies calmly in the neonatal unit. Born at just 25 weeks of pregnancy, she is incredibly small and fragile. Yet the doctor on duty is amazed by how stable she is. “She is a fighter. We might get another miracle.”

For a baby this tiny, every day is a victory. Agwang, a mother of three, says her pregnancy had been difficult. She had been bleeding throughout the pregnancy and received treatment for several problems, but the bleeding never stopped. Then, one afternoon, everything changed. Her back began to ache. The pain became stronger — and suddenly, her tiny baby was born. Agwang wasn’t sure her baby would survive. Now, in the neonatal unit, she is surprised to see so many other tiny babies — babies just like hers, all fighting for a chance.

“I am beginning to adapt. Fear is leaving me.” Her role may seem simple, but for Agwang it is something new and important: keeping her baby clean, feeding her as instructed, and learning how to care for her tiny daughter. But there was one thing she was very afraid of. Kangaroo Care. “At the start, I really feared I might hurt my baby.” For a mother holding a 725-gram baby for the first time, that fear is understandable. But this is only the beginning of Agwang’s journey. .

At one point, she developed a pneumonia, but with treatment she recovered. She continued to feed well and, after about a month and a half, became less dependent on breathing support. The next challenge was helping her grow and reach the weight needed to be safely discharged home. After two months in the neonatal unit, Agwang desperately wanted to go home. But she knew her baby had been born very early and needed time to grow in an environment where she could receive the care and monitoring she needed. “We are ready to go, but I have to bring her back here for monitoring. They need to check her eyes and her body to make sure there are no problems.” Agwang is excited to return home to the rest of her family, but she knows that her journey with the neonatal team is not over. “I will come. This baby belongs to all of us. I would have loved to stay a little longer, but I miss the other family members. So we will meet again when I bring the baby.” From those tiny beginnings at 25 weeks, Agwang’s baby has grown into a story of resilience, patience, love and hope.

And perhaps most importantly, her story reminds us why we must keep investing in neonatal care — because every tiny life matters.