In this picture received by AFP from Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns on May 29, 2019, shows a nurse holding baby Saybie, the world\u2019s smallest surviving newborn, on the day she was released from the NICU in San Diego, California. \u2013 A baby girl who weighed 245 grams and measured 23 cm became the smallest baby in the world, a US hospital reported after being discharged five months after being in intensive care. (Photo by HO \/ Sharp HealthCare. \/ AFP) \/\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A California hospital on Wednesday disclosed the birth of the world\u2019s smallest baby ever to survive, weighing a mere 245 grams (8.6 ounces) \u2014 the same as a large apple \u2014 when she was born.<\/p>\n
The girl, nicknamed Saybie by hospital staff, was born 23 weeks and three days into her mother\u2019s pregnancy at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns in San Diego.<\/p>\n
The father was told by doctors that he would have about an hour with his daughter before she passed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that hour turned into two hours which turned into a day, which turned into a week,\u201d the mother said in a video released by the hospital.<\/p>\n
Doctors said Saybie was delivered via emergency cesarean section in December at 23 weeks and three days gestation in the womb after severe pregnancy complications that put her mother\u2019s life at risk. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.<\/p>\n
After nearly five months at the hospital\u2019s neonatal intensive care unit, Saybie was discharged home earlier this month weighing a healthy five pounds (2.2 kilograms) and sporting a graduation cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a miracle, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said Kim Norby, one of the nurses who cared for Saybie as she fought to survive \u2014 with a sign by her crib that read \u201ctiny but mighty\u201d cheering her on.<\/p>\n
Emma Wiest, another nurse featured in the video, said Saybie was so small at birth that \u201cyou could barely see her on the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
At birth, she weighed as much as a child\u2019s juice box or two sticks of butter and could fit in the palm of the hands of her caretakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d heard that we had such a tiny baby and it sounded unbelievable because I mean she\u2019s about half of the weight as a normal 23-weeker,\u201d Wiest said.<\/p>\n
Defied the odds <\/strong>Doctors said that apart from Saybie\u2019s fighting spirit, her survival as a micro preemie \u2014 a baby born before 28 weeks\u2019 gestation \u2014 could be attributed to the fact that she suffered no serious complications after birth.<\/p>\n\u201cSaybie experienced virtually none of the medical challenges typically associated with micro preemies, which can include brain bleeds, and lung and heart issues,\u201d the hospital said.<\/p>\nSaybie\u2019s ranking as the world\u2019s tiniest baby ever to survive is according to the Tiniest Babies Registry, maintained by the University of Iowa.<\/p>\nThe previous record was held by a baby born in Germany in 2015 who weighed seven grams more than Saybie.<\/p>\n\u201cEvery life is a miracle \u2014 those that defy the odds even more so,\u201d Edward Bell, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Iowa who oversees the registry, told AFP.<\/p>\nIn the video released by the hospital, Saybie\u2019s mother said the birth was the scariest day of her life.<\/p>\nShe said she was rushed to hospital after feeling ill and was told she had preeclampsia \u2014 a condition marked by very high blood pressure that puts both the mother and baby\u2019s lives at risk.<\/p>\n\u201cThey had to deliver her really quickly and I kept telling them that she\u2019s not going to survive, she\u2019s only 23 weeks,\u201d the mother, who did not want to be identified, said.<\/p>\nBut against all odds, Saybie did survive.<\/p>\nShe nonetheless will still face enormous challenges as a micro-preemie, including possible respiratory, hearing and vision problems.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cSaybie experienced virtually none of the medical challenges typically associated with micro preemies, which can include brain bleeds, and lung and heart issues,\u201d the hospital said.<\/p>\n
Saybie\u2019s ranking as the world\u2019s tiniest baby ever to survive is according to the Tiniest Babies Registry, maintained by the University of Iowa.<\/p>\n
The previous record was held by a baby born in Germany in 2015 who weighed seven grams more than Saybie.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery life is a miracle \u2014 those that defy the odds even more so,\u201d Edward Bell, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Iowa who oversees the registry, told AFP.<\/p>\n
In the video released by the hospital, Saybie\u2019s mother said the birth was the scariest day of her life.<\/p>\n
She said she was rushed to hospital after feeling ill and was told she had preeclampsia \u2014 a condition marked by very high blood pressure that puts both the mother and baby\u2019s lives at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had to deliver her really quickly and I kept telling them that she\u2019s not going to survive, she\u2019s only 23 weeks,\u201d the mother, who did not want to be identified, said.<\/p>\n
But against all odds, Saybie did survive.<\/p>\n
She nonetheless will still face enormous challenges as a micro-preemie, including possible respiratory, hearing and vision problems.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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