A baby thought to be the world’s smallest at birth has been discharged from a Singapore hospital after 13 months of intensive care, BBC reported.
Kwek Yu Xuan weighed only 212g, the weight of an apple, when she was born with the height of 24cm.
She was delivered at just under 25 weeks, which is very early of the average 40 weeks.
According to the University of Iowa’s Tiniest Babies Registry, the girl who previously held a record was a girl in the US who weighed 245g at birth in 2018.
Yu Xuan’s mother gave birth to her by emergency C-section four months early after she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia — dangerously high blood pressure that can damage vital organs and be fatal for both mother and baby.
Yu Xuan now weighs a much healthier 6.3kg (14 pounds).
The baby girl had a “limited chance of survival”, according to Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH) where she was born.
“Against the odds, with health complications present at birth, she has inspired people around her with her perseverance and growth, which makes her an extraordinary ‘Covid-19’ baby — a ray of hope amid turmoil,” the hospital said in a statement.
Yu Xuan was given multiple kinds of treatment and relied on different kinds of machines to survive.
Doctors say her health and development went well under their care and she is now healthy enough to be discharged.
Yu Xuan still has chronic lung disease and will need help with her breathing at home. However, doctors say she is expected to get better with time.
Yu Xuan’s parents were able to pay for her treatment through a crowdfunding campaign that raised $366,884 (Rs 44,522,019).
