A “One-in-a-Million” High-Risk Pregnancy Delivered in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

GLENDALE – Abrazo Arrowhead Campus proudly announces the remarkable birth of baby Benzi, a miraculous delivery that shows the hospital’s commitment to advanced maternal-fetal care and neonatal expertise led by Dr. Ravi Gunatilake, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Valley Perinatal Services and Abrazo Health.

The story begins with 35-year-old Bendu Kiazolu, who comes from a big family herself, and always wanted lots of kids. Despite being told at age 19 that she couldn’t get pregnant, Bendu gave birth to her first son Bailey eight years ago.

“After I had my son, I kept wanting to have more kids and more kids because he was such a blessing to us,” says Bendu.

Since then, Bendu’s journey to expand her family has become one of repeated heartbreak, perseverance, faith, and medical innovation.

During the following few years, Bendu and her husband endured the loss of five more babies. She had three miscarriages. Then in 2023, she became pregnant and faced another devastating loss.

“When the nurse told me they couldn’t detect a heartbeat, I just cried and cried, I couldn’t believe this was happening over and over again,” says Bendu. Her baby was stillborn at 24 weeks.

Later that same year, she became pregnant again with a baby girl, and that’s when she started seeing Dr. Ravi Gunatilake, (who goes by Dr. G), and who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine both at Valley Perinatal Services and Abrazo Arrowhead Campus and who is well equipped to care for such extremely complex cases and conditions.

Despite his close supervision, Bendu’s baby was born prematurely, at 31 weeks, and tragically passed away. This time Dr. G suspected the baby’s death was the result of Bendu’s immune system mistakenly attacking the baby through the placenta, a rare condition known as Gestational Alloimmune Liver Disease (GALD).

When Bendu became pregnant for the sixth time last year, Dr. G knew he had to do something different, something he calls a “creative and highly individualized approach to her care.”

“If you were to characterize Bendu’s clinical situation when she started this pregnancy with us, it was probably already a one in a million pregnancy if not one in five million so a very, very challenging and unique situation because currently we don’t have a single drug or medication that really blocks mom’s immune system,” says Dr. G.

After consulting with experts from around the world, Dr. G and the Abrazo Arrowhead NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) team implemented a unique and aggressive treatment plan with Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions, steroids, and Hydroxychloroquine – all to suppress mother’s immune system and save the life of her sixth child.

“When Dr. G told me he could start IVIG on me, it was on a Friday, and he suggested I begin the following Monday. I told him I want to start now, today! I drove straight over to the NICU that day for my first 18-hour infusion,” says Bendu.

“I really give tremendous credit to Bendu because these medications and therapies do have significant side-effects, and she experienced them and fought through them knowing they were helping her baby,” says Dr. G.

It was during one of those marathon 18-hour infusions in the Abrazo Arrowhead NICU back in March that, at 32 weeks, Bendu’s water broke: it was time, and she was in the right place.

“My son came out right there in the NICU, he was ready. He came out only 3 pounds, but he was breathing on his own, he was just a blessing: he came out little, but he came out perfect,” says a very grateful and tearful Bendu.

“Seeing Bendu and her husband absolutely devastated and crying in the NICU during that last pregnancy, as they watched their child die that night, experiencing that emotion, and then finally being able to see her and her husband with their child at this most recent pregnancy, that was the most memorable thing for me,” says Dr. G.

“This extraordinary story reflects both the resilience of patients like Bendu and her family and the expertise of Dr. Gunatilake and our NICU hospital teams,” says Stephen Garner, CEO Abrazo Arrowhead Campus. “We are committed to providing advanced, compassionate care for high-risk pregnancies and fragile newborns like Bendu and Benzi.”

Bendu hopes her story inspires other women to never give up. “If that’s your dream, go forward. If you want to have your child, you go have your child, have faith. I have faith. It was a long journey and I’m so grateful. Now, I want to have one more baby, but Dr. G is making me wait a year,” she says as she breaks out in a giggle.