Experience in India inspires student to save lives
She saw many more young premature babies die in the hospital in Pune than in Baltimore, mainly due to costs.
Deshpande explained how any baby under 37 weeks of gestation is considered premature.
While working in Baltimore, she worked with a whole range of infants from 26 to 37 weeks of age.
"But in India, 26 and 27 week-ers just don't survive because they're so sick," she said.
"In Baltimore, babies this young can survive after spending months in NICU. In India though, it's not possible because there aren't enough beds and not enough money. I only saw 32 week-ers and up because under that, they just didn't survive," Deshpande said.
Even those infants, she explained, who at 32 weeks in the United States would often spend months in intensive care, were only able to spend a few days in intensive care in India.
This, she said, often led to more health complications in the future, and higher mortality rates of premature children.
She also said that in India, as a result of lack of funds, she saw many female premature babies simply left to die in the hospital.
"A lot of the parents when they had a premature baby girl, they just chose not to pay for the baby and they just left the girl there to die, because they didn't have enough money to cover the costs," she said.
"There's also that mentality that, 'what is a girl' in India, because a girl can't make money for the family. It was just very very sad, you'd never see that here," Deshpande explained.
However, there was also one especially uplifting story she found during her time working in Pune came from one impoverished farmer whose premature daughter was suffering from liver complications.
He was upset about the situation, but refused to give up hope, and told Deshpande he was willing to do anything to help keep his child alive.
"He was telling me that an entire month's salary he earned working on the farm was spent in one day of treatment for his baby girl. He was willing to do anything for his girl, and he told me how she meant the world to him," she said.
Deshpande explained how any baby under 37 weeks of gestation is considered premature.
While working in Baltimore, she worked with a whole range of infants from 26 to 37 weeks of age.
"But in India, 26 and 27 week-ers just don't survive because they're so sick," she said.
"In Baltimore, babies this young can survive after spending months in NICU. In India though, it's not possible because there aren't enough beds and not enough money. I only saw 32 week-ers and up because under that, they just didn't survive," Deshpande said.
Even those infants, she explained, who at 32 weeks in the United States would often spend months in intensive care, were only able to spend a few days in intensive care in India.
This, she said, often led to more health complications in the future, and higher mortality rates of premature children.
She also said that in India, as a result of lack of funds, she saw many female premature babies simply left to die in the hospital.
"A lot of the parents when they had a premature baby girl, they just chose not to pay for the baby and they just left the girl there to die, because they didn't have enough money to cover the costs," she said.
"There's also that mentality that, 'what is a girl' in India, because a girl can't make money for the family. It was just very very sad, you'd never see that here," Deshpande explained.
However, there was also one especially uplifting story she found during her time working in Pune came from one impoverished farmer whose premature daughter was suffering from liver complications.
He was upset about the situation, but refused to give up hope, and told Deshpande he was willing to do anything to help keep his child alive.
"He was telling me that an entire month's salary he earned working on the farm was spent in one day of treatment for his baby girl. He was willing to do anything for his girl, and he told me how she meant the world to him," she said.
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