In rooms filled with machines, measured breaths, and waiting hearts, Dr. Nitasha Bagga learned an enduring truth: the smallest lives often demand the greatest courage.

A neonatologist with more than two decades of experience, Dr. Bagga has spent her life standing beside babies born too soon—some weighing no more than 500 grams—fighting for a chance to live. Repeatedly, she witnessed a devastating pattern. Lives that could be saved. Parents who wanted to try. And care that remained out of reach.

At the heart of her journey is a simple belief: Every newborn, no matter how small or sick, deserves a fair chance at life. What began as hope became action. And that action became impact.

Founded in 2021, The Extra Mile Foundation is a Hyderabad-based charitable trust dedicated to saving premature and critically ill newborns. By partnering with leading healthcare institutions across India and advocating for subsidized treatment, the foundation ensures that cost never determines a newborn’s survival. To date, nearly 400 newborns have received a second chance through life-saving NICU care, including complex cardiac and abdominal surgeries.

But saving lives also means building systems that endure. Recognizing a severe shortage of trained neonatal nurses in India, the foundation launched a Neonatal Care Assistants Program, a skills-based training program that equips young women from underserved communities with specialized skills and dignified careers. Today, they deliver expert NICU care in leading hospitals—transforming not only newborn outcomes but also their own futures.

The neonatal period, the first 28 days of life, is the most vulnerable. In India, over 3.5 million babies are born preterm each year, and saving a newborn weighing barely 500 grams can save families everything. The Extra Mile Foundation stands quietly, steadily, and resolutely, bridging medicine and mercy.

“Because some lives don’t need miracles. They need someone willing to go the extra mile”.