The world’s biggest super power is craving for ‘super babies’. And for the magic potion, the US has turned to India.
Ayurveda offers a ‘dream’ drug called Sujat, which, doctors say, will not only ensure an easy pregnancy, but also deliver a baby “much superior in terms of medical and physical health”.
Sujat has been available in the Indian market for the past 12 years. Recently doctors at National Institution of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland, have shown interest in the drug, seeking to conduct a collaborative clinical trial.
Gynaecologist Dr HS Palep - one of the brains behind the drug - confirmed that he was planning a joint study with researchers from Boston University Medical School to clinically prove the efficacy of the drug and its miraculous properties.
The composition of Sujat rests on the perception that the environment within the uterus holds the key to the growth of a child. Its ingredients include herbs like amla, gokhru and ashwagandha.
“Ayurveda has this concept of ‘super baby’ for ages. It can be attained even today with a fine mix of modern medicines,” said Palep, a practising gynaecologist also trained in Ayurveda. “This drug (Sujat) is administered on the mother from the time of conception till the baby is delivered, and can be continued throughout the lactating period.”
“Allopathy drugs miss out on micro-nutrients, which are essential for fetal birth weight and eventual growth,” he added.
Detailed experimentations with the drug at St George and the KEM hospitals have proved that it significantly improved the fetal outcome in terms of preventing pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and recurrent pregnancy loss.
The average weight of an Indian new-born is 2.5 kg - almost a kilogram less than babies of other origins. But doctors said that pregnant women taking this capsule had given birth to babies weighing almost 4 kg. “The drug enhances the development of the baby, and keeps him/her away from physical ailments,” said Dr YM Nandanwar, head of gynaecology, Sion Hospital.
When contacted via e-mail, Dr Robert Saper, director, Integrative Medicine Department, Boston University Medical School, wrote back, “We believe that Ayurvedic formulations can play a tremendous role in achieving the goal of a baby born with good birth weight.” He also expressed hope that the new joint study would reconfirm the earlier findings about Ayurveda.
However, despite the efficacy of the drug, no scientific trial was conducted to check how long it protected a child from ailments. “Our study, to be conducted on 200-300 pregnant women, should answer all queries about the drug,” said Palep.
