Posted on 12/21/2004 1:36:31 PM PST by Tarpaulin
CHICAGO - A premature infant believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive was called "a great blessing" Tuesday by her mother, who is preparing to take the little girl and her twin sister home from the hospital.
The baby, named Rumaisa, weighed 8.6 ounces when she was delivered Sept. 19 at Loyola University Medical Center — less than a can of soda. That is 1.3 ounces smaller than the previous record holder, who was born at the same the hospital in 1989, according to hospital spokeswoman Sandra Martinez.
Rumaisa, her twin sister, Hiba, and their parents were introduced Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital in suburban Maywood. The girls were wrapped in identical striped blankets.
Their mother, Mahajabeen Shaik, said she didn't "have the words to say how thankful I was" when she first got to hold her children, in their second month.
"It's a blessing, it's a great blessing," said Shaik.
Hospital officials said they're doing so well that Hiba, who weighed 1 pound and 4 ounces at birth, could be released from the hospital by the end of this month, with Rumaisa following as early as the first week of January.
"They're maintaining their temperature, they don't need an incubator. They're taking their bottles. ... They're normal babies," said Dr. William MacMillan.
Rumaisa now weighs 2 pounds and 10 ounces. Her twin weighs 5 pounds.
Shaik, 23, developed pre-eclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure and other problems, during pregnancy. The condition affected Rumaisa in the womb and her mother's health, prompting a Caesarean section at 25 weeks and 6 days. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.
Shaik and her husband, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, 32, said they are looking forward to bringing their children home. The couple, originally from Hyderabad, India, live in the suburb of Hanover Park.
"We want them to be good human beings, good citizens, and she wants them to be doctors," said Rahman, looking at his wife.
"Doctors. Yes, of course, of course," she said, laughing.
Both girls underwent laser surgery to correct vision problems common in premature babies, said MacMillan. Tests have shown that there is no bleeding in Rumaisa's brain, another common complication in premature infants that can put them at risk for cerebral palsy.
Madeline Mann, the previous record holder as smallest known surviving preemie, returned to Loyola Hospital earlier this year for a celebration. Now 15, she was described as a lively honor student, though small for her age, at 4-feet-7.
According to the hospital, more than 1,700 newborns weighing less than two pounds have been cared for there in the past 20 years.
Whoa it`s a feetus.
... and how can pro choice people say that this baby is not alive?!
Exactly!
Their doctor was interviewed on TV..he said.. ( paraphrasing)..that "they ( the staff) didn't do anything special. It was a miracle.."
That has to be a record. My neice weighed 1lb. 10oz. She is now blind in one eye and has cerebal palsy, they say was caused from the light that was used in the 70's to treat preemies.
I wonder if liberals think this baby is small enough to abort. I'd be willing to bet that they would use a bass guage to determine it, if we let them.
No, it is alive because its out of the womb and we can see it. If I can't see it, and its in the woman's body, I can kill it.... /sarcasm
So when is a baby a fetus? And when is a fetus a baby? Is this a question to ask the libs?
Just WOW.
No phone, no doctors, no midwife available.
The baby girl was so small, she fit completely in the palm of my grandmother's hand.
She kept the baby alive near the fireplace.
Sat by her side all day and night.
Grandmother's wedding ring made a bracelet for the baby. (My grandmother was a small lady.)
Fed her with an eyedropper, about every half hour.
The baby was nick named "Tiny," lived and grew into a lovely woman with two daughters of her own.
"Allah" bin beddy, beddy good to dem, no?
Wow, I'm amazed when a baby that tiny survives NOW, let alone the early 1900's... and without any medical intervention. That's a really cool story. Thanks!
Merry Christmas.
Yet people like Nancy Pelosi want abortion on demand up until labor. Sickening. Says alot about the people of San Francisco.
Good story, well told.
the media is still calling the baby cut out of that woman's womb in Missouri a fetus. Even though it has clearly been a baby for several days now.
One twin weighed 8.6 oz and the other weighed 20 oz at birth. I suspect the smaller twin survived at that weight because she was farther along developmentally than most 8 oz babies. There may have been a circulation problem between the twins, with one getting more at the expense of the other.
ping
It was a baby when it was in the womb, and it's still a baby now. The only difference is the baby's environment has changed. I get so sick of hearing the MSM talk about a growing fetus as it's nothing more than organ tissue.
Any woman who has carried a baby to term knows what's growing inside her. Any man who has ever put his hand on a pregnant woman's tummy and felt the baby kick has to know it's a person in there. When was the last time you felt your liver kick?
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