Mubarak N., 1

Baby Abdulrahman Nadia is only eight days old, yet her arrival has already brought great joy and hope to her family. She was born into a farming family in Akuku, Kachia Local Government Area, where her parents work the land daily to provide for their household despite the many hardships of rural life. Nadia was delivered normally, but after her umbilical cord was cut, her umbilical area became swollen, and the newborn began experiencing pain and discomfort. Her worried parents took her to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, from where she was referred for further evaluation and treatment. She has been diagnosed with a ruptured omphalocele minor with enterocutaneous fistula, a serious birth defect where abdominal contents protrude at the navel and the bowel has opened onto the skin.

With timely surgical repair is done, the prognosis is favourable. Closing the abdominal defect and repairing the fistula will restore normal bowel continuity, stop the leakage of intestinal contents, and allow Nadia to feed, grow, and develop like any healthy child. Without surgery, the condition is fatal in the first weeks of life.