In the last couple of decades, such a trend has been noticed: many children are born with above-average indicators (height and weight). 4 kilograms - this figure no longer scares anyone. However, a large fruit is not so bad. It is much worse when a child is born with a critical body weight. Although there are also a lot of nuances here, the viability of the fetus depends not only on weight, but also on the duration of pregnancy.
According to WHO, very low body weight is considered to be less than 2 kilograms (2.1 kg for boys). Although there are cases when children were born weighing less than 500 grams and they managed to survive. Of course, these are exceptions to the rule.
This article will focus on the smallest children in the world who managed to survive. All of them were born premature, but thanks to the efforts of the medical staff, these guys are now enjoying life.
Willow Ludden-Brooks, 450 g
Willow Ludden-Brookes is a native of Great Britain. The girl was born in 2009, the gestation period was 23 weeks. The mother was diagnosed with an intrauterine infection. It was she who caused the premature birth. Doctors were 90% sure that the child could not be saved. Surprisingly, Willow was able to take a breath, she even had enough strength to cry.
At first, the press closely followed the girl’s life. She was quite healthy, of course, she needed to spend a lot of time in the hospital. Nothing is known about her right now, but we hope Willow is doing well.
Feeding a breastfed baby
Feeding a newborn provides his body with useful substances necessary for growth and proper development. They are usually fed human breast milk or its substitutes - milk of animal origin, or dry formulas. The baby’s digestive system is still imperfect and can only absorb liquid substances.
Based on how much breast milk a baby receives, 3 types of feeding can be distinguished:
- breast milk (completely human milk),
- artificial (milk formula only),
- mixed (mother's milk and formula).
Modern scientists argue that breastfeeding is preferable for a child. Although advertising of baby food guarantees its benefits and high quality, no formula can yet replicate the content of human breast milk. The highest quality baby food, developed by reputable manufacturers, includes about 40 useful elements, and human milk contains more than 400 of them. Feeding with dry formula deprives the baby of the most important substances that he can only get from mother's milk - hormones that encourage the development of the stomach , intestines, nervous system.
In some cases, it makes sense to transfer the child to formula feeding. A serious reason is the illness of the mother, who is forced to take drugs that are harmful to the child, as well as a hormonal disorder, due to which milk ceases to be produced. In such cases, changing the type of feeding is justified.
The following are not serious reasons for replacing natural milk with artificial milk:
- infantile colic;
- increased formation of gases (can be eliminated in other ways);
- if the baby hiccups;
- loose stools or a long absence of them;
- the baby is not gaining weight well (the mother thinks she doesn’t have enough milk);
- mother's ailments associated with colds.
Nowadays, medications have been created for colds that are allowed to be taken by nursing mothers. It is almost impossible to infect a child, because he acquires immunity through his mother’s milk.
You should not rush into the decision to introduce complementary foods; it is better to consult with those who understand. There are means to enhance lactation, using which you can prolong the baby’s receipt of the beneficial substances contained in breast milk. All leading experts unanimously agree that breastfeeding is the most appropriate and fully meets the needs of infants.
Benefits of breastfeeding:
- Scientists say that newborn babies who received breast milk have an IQ higher than those who were bottle-fed.
- At the time of feeding, the baby is in contact with his mother, which also stimulates the development of his brain.
- Breastfeeding not only nourishes the baby, but also satisfies his emotional needs to communicate with a loved one. Such children are less likely to come into conflict with their relatives, understand their parents more easily, communicate better in a group, and adapt to society.
- Breastfeeding reduces the mother's risk of developing ovarian or breast cancer.
- Helps combat postpartum depression by stabilizing a woman's hormonal levels.
- Serves as a natural contraceptive (if breastfeeding, the likelihood of becoming pregnant is very low).
Artificial feeding of an infant
If there is no milk from the mother and it is impossible to find a wet nurse, you should not choose goat or cow milk. It is better to switch to adapted milk formulas, which are easier for infants to digest. It is advisable to start using them starting from six months of age.
When choosing an adapted formula for a baby, the age indicated on the package is taken into account, as well as additional qualities of the product, for example, the absence of lactose or the content of probiotics that improve intestinal function. In this regard, consultation with a pediatrician is necessary.
Nathan Siberras, 435 g
Another case that occurred in the UK, in Southampton. Nathan Siberras was born at 24 weeks. This happened in 2008. Doctors gave him one chance in a million, but the boy managed to take advantage of it. By the way, his name translates as “Gift of God.”
Despite the short time, he was able to breathe on his own. Nathan was placed in an incubator and spent a lot of time there. Siberras's parents went through many difficult moments; doctors did not give any guarantees; the boy's life could have ended at any moment.
Apparently he was born under a lucky star. Within a few weeks he was discharged. Nathan had a very good appetite, he began to grow by leaps and bounds. Soon the boy was almost as tall as his older brother; by the way, the difference between them was 4 years.
Alexis Clark, 312 g
This event took place in San Diego in 2013. A little girl was born, weighing just over 300 g. Little is known about her. Apparently, her parents are not those who like to communicate with representatives of the media. The period was only 25 weeks, the chances of survival were, but insignificant.
The girl spent six months in the hospital, after which she was released to her family. Mom Laurie Clark calls her an angel and thanks fate for the fact that Alexis survived, although her life hung in the balance more than once.
Amalia Sonya Taylor, 284 g
For some time, Amalia Sonya Taylor from the USA was considered a record holder among other premature babies. Not surprisingly, birth weight is 284 gamma (21 weeks). The girl was born in 2006.
Her mother was diagnosed with infertility, but the woman did not give up, she hoped that fate would give her a child. There were many attempts, and the lucky woman still managed to get pregnant. It was a real miracle. But she couldn’t bear the child. Amalia spent six months in an incubator and had many health problems. She was discharged weighing 1.8 kg.
Subsequently, she was somewhat behind in development from her peers. Physical and mental indicators did not meet the norm, but Sonya Taylor’s parents did not despair. Now the girl is 13 years old. There is no information about her online; the family carefully avoids communicating with journalists.
Premature babies: survival records
Any baby born less than 37 weeks (that is, before day 260) of pregnancy is considered premature. Childbirth can occur ahead of schedule for many reasons, and there is no need to look for the culprits here. In most cases, premature babies have a body weight of less than 2500 grams and a length of less than 45 cm. At the same time, low weight is not an absolute sign of prematurity, since even during intrauterine development some babies lose weight, being born as real crumbs.
Of course, the main problem of babies born prematurely is the difficulty of adapting to the conditions of the outside world due to insufficient development (primarily of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive and excretory systems). To ensure the survival of such babies, doctors need to put in much more effort than in a standard case. Most often, a premature baby requires a full range of resuscitation measures. The newborn is placed in a special incubator (incubator), where he is kept until he reaches the required height, weight and degree of development in order to enter the “big world”.
Unfortunately, specialists are unable to deliver many babies, but the opposite situations also happen when children, who are absolutely hopeless at first glance, courageously fight for life. We will now tell you about several record-breaking babies.
Rumaisa Rahman was born a pair of twins on September 19, 2004 at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. The babies were born 15 weeks early, at 26 weeks of pregnancy. Rumaisa weighed only 244 g, and her twin sister Hiba weighed 563 g. Tiny Rumaisa (the name translates as “Whiter than Milk”) has been compared to a mobile phone, a can of Coca-Cola, and a package of butter, which is not at all surprising considering height 24 cm (that is, half the norm). Both girls underwent laser vision correction surgery, which is a fairly common problem among premature babies. The babies' parents are from India. Early birth was caused by the illness of the girls' mother, Mahajabin Shalk, who suffered from a serious form of preeclampsia (a critical decrease in cerebral circulation combined with generalization of systemic disorders of the liver, kidneys, hemostasis, hemocerebrospinal fluid dynamics, lungs, and cardiovascular system). She took steroids during pregnancy to ensure her children's lung development. Among other things, the woman’s blood pressure abnormally increased during childbirth, which is why doctors had to resort to a caesarean section. Of course, in this situation, the experts did not particularly believe in the success of the operation. Oddly enough, in just over 3 months the girls recovered, Hiba gained weight to 2.25 kg, and Rumaisa - to 1.18 kg. “This is a blessing from God,” said the twins’ mother. 6 months after birth, on February 9, 2005, the girls were discharged home, at which point Rumaisa already weighed 2490 kg, and her height had almost doubled. The baby was even able to take part in a press conference held by doctors on the occasion of the discharge of the world's smallest born and surviving baby. For those who are interested in the further fate of the girl, we can say that at the age of five she weighed 33 pounds (14.9 kg), and her height was 3.5 feet (1.06 m). Now Rumaisa is already 7 years old.
Madeline Mann was born in June 1989, at 27 weeks, also at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. Her birth weight was 280 g and she had minor cerebral hemorrhage and retinopathy. Today Madeline is already 22 years old, she considers herself an absolutely normal girl, she runs, plays the violin and is studying at the university to become a psychologist. Previous problems have not passed without a trace for her; the student suffers from asthma and is one and a half meters tall and weighs 30 kg. However, she has no other health problems.
Amilia Taylor was born on October 24, 2006 in Miami, USA (Florida). Her weight was 284 g, height 25 cm. The girl was born at the 22nd week of pregnancy. She was conceived through artificial insemination, and the birth took place via cesarean section (Amilia's mother Sonya Taylor had serious health problems). The baby spent about six months in the incubator, but upon discharge the baby’s weight was already 1.8 kg. It was for her desire for life that she received the name Amilia - “not giving up.” The girl has abnormalities in the condition of her kidneys and lungs, but overall her condition is stable. “She goes to occupational and physical therapy twice a week and sees her pediatrician every two weeks and her pulmonary doctor twice a week,” Amilia’s mom said. The family spends 2.5 thousand dollars a month to treat a premature baby. In the first six months after discharge, the parents (they are African-American) spent $100,000 of their personal savings on this, but still have never asked for help. Amilia's dad intends to raise her on his own and make her as healthy as possible.
The UK also has its own records - a girl named Ruby, for example, weighed 300 g at birth and was only 18 cm tall. According to British media, the smallest child born and survived here was Amalia Hart, weighing 340 g. However, this girl recovered very quickly, because after only 2 days of intensive care she could be disconnected from the artificial respiration apparatus.
Let us recall that in 2012 Russia is also moving to the criteria for registering newborns recommended by the World Health Organization. In accordance with them, infants born after the 22nd week of pregnancy with a body weight of more than 500 g will be registered. Until this moment, a child in our country with low body weight was not considered a fetus and was not included in mortality statistics if it lived less than 7 days. The chief neonatologist of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, Elena Baibarina, claims that today 80% of premature babies survive in our country, only 20% of them later have severe disabilities. However, the specialist has a very negative attitude towards the records described in the article. “I call it sports medicine. It is wonderful, of course, that some child survived, but here we are also talking about the interaction between medicine and journalism. You cannot say: “Well, the Japanese produced a child weighing 250 g, but our doctors, of course, will never do this.” Or describe situations when doctors told a woman that she couldn’t give birth, she had a severe heart defect and ten other diseases, but she didn’t listen to anyone and gave birth - that’s how good she is. Such notes just make me feel bad; I understand perfectly well that it was a miracle that that woman survived. Ten others who read the note and follow her will die,” Elena Baibarina said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Photos of heroes: https://www.topnews.ru
Madeline Mann, 280 g
Madeline Mann was born in 1989. This is the story that should be told to women who are worried about the life of their child. After all, at that time medicine had not yet reached the level it is now.
Madeline's mother developed preeclampsia, and doctors were forced to perform emergency surgery. Mann was born by Caesarean section. Major health problems. She was forced to spend 4 months in the hospital. When Mann was discharged, she weighed about 2 kilograms.
In the future, all health difficulties became a thing of the past. Madeline was no different from her peers. She received an education and became a psychologist. Growing up, Mann retained her petite figure; at 20, she weighed 32 kg (with a height of 1.30 m).
Kenna Moore, 272 g
Kenna Moore was born in Charlotte (USA). The pregnancy was initially problematic. Doctors suggested that Kenna's mother have an abortion because abnormalities were discovered in the fetus. The woman refused, but at 24 weeks she had to have a caesarean section.
To the surprise of the doctors, the child showed signs of life, but Kenna was unable to breathe on her own. She underwent several operations, each of which could have cost her life, but everything turned out okay. Moore was no larger than the palm of an adult's hand; she could easily fit on it.
She spent six months in an artificial therapy device. When the girl's weight reached 3 kilograms, she was discharged from the hospital.
"Puppet" Charlotte
The Garside family lives in the UK. The couple has four children and Charlotte is the youngest child. Unfortunately, the girl was born with an incurable pathology - underdevelopment of the pituitary gland, which is responsible for the hormonal balance of the entire body.
At birth, Charlotte weighed 1 kg and had a height of 26 cm. Doctors warned her parents that the girl would not live to see a year. She has a very weak immune system and her organs are not developing well.
But the parents did not give up and continue to fight for their daughter’s life. Charlotte is now 6 years old and has even started school. The girl weighs about 4.5 kg and is 70 cm tall.
Melinda Star Guido, 269 g
This incident occurred in 2011. Melinda was born in Los Angeles at 24 weeks. The girl's parents begged the doctors to save her, because they had already lost one child. The doctors did not make any promises; they themselves did not believe that the little patient would survive.
She spent a long time in the incubator, unable to breathe or eat on her own. Melinda's mother did not want to leave her daughter for a minute; she was there around the clock. Perhaps her prayers helped, but after some time the girl’s weight reached the required level (2 kg), and she was discharged.
Prematurity today is not a death sentence for newborns.
As you know, until recently, a weight of 400 grams was critical for a newborn baby. A little less - and these crumbs were considered unviable. In addition, they, as a rule, were born ahead of time (before the required 37 weeks), that is, premature. Most of them did not survive.
But obstetric care today has reached a fairly high level, and doctors have learned to save babies of even less weight. Of course, even using high-end medical equipment, doctors cannot save some of the tiniest newborns. But in the arsenal of modern medicine there are cases, known throughout the world, when the smallest babies not only survived, but also never cease to delight their parents with their achievements.
Rumaisa Rahman, 244 g
In 2004, an equally unique case occurred in the state of Illinois (USA). Two tiny twins, Hiba and Rumaisa, . The weight of the first was 563 grams. Of course, they were worried about her life, but not as much as about the life of her sister Rumaisa. She weighed 244 grams and was 24 centimeters tall.
The sisters' health left much to be desired; their vision was severely damaged; they even underwent laser correction. At 2.5 months they were able to feed themselves (from a bottle). Soon Rumaisa caught up with her sister.
The girls were discharged from the hospital after six months. Subsequently, they did not differ from their peers in either physical or mental development.
Is it necessary to swaddle a newborn baby?
Swaddling a baby currently causes a lot of controversy among parents and doctors. There are a large number of arguments for and against. Many believe that this is beneficial for the baby; for others, diapers make care more difficult. Only the parents themselves decide this issue for themselves, positively or negatively.
The custom of wrapping babies in the first months of life appeared a long time ago and is still preserved among many peoples, especially in cold areas. In the old days, this helped families out due to the lack of children's clothing.
Parents' arguments for diapers:
- Swaddling helps babies adapt to the world around them.
- The child feels protected, being wrapped in linen, calms down faster and falls asleep.
Cons:
- Swaddling reduces a child's motor skills, which causes a delay in the development of motor skills: such children later begin to move independently and stand on their feet. However, they quickly catch up with their peers in development.
- If you swaddle your baby tightly, the blood supply may be disrupted.
- Babies themselves disapprove of diapers.
- This procedure requires some skill: not all parents can do it right away.
- Once a baby is used to diapers, it will be difficult to wean them off after a while.
Some people consider using a sling as a replacement for swaddling. In it, the child feels in the “cradle” position, like in diapers, and calms down.
Traditions of caring for newborns have been developed over centuries, so swaddling, which was practiced in ancient times, is surrounded by a huge number of myths. For example, it is believed that a baby who grows up without diapers will have crooked legs and back. This statement is not true; on the contrary, tight swaddling can lead to curvature of the hip joints. It must be remembered that when swaddling, you should not straighten the baby’s legs.
The next myth claims that without diapers, a baby randomly kicks its legs and arms, and can cause some damage to itself. If you cut your nails in a timely manner, or even better, put specially made mittens on your hands, troubles can be avoided.
Emilia Grabarchik, 226 g
Emilia Grabarczyk proudly bears the title of the smallest premature baby who managed to survive. This story took place in Germany in 2021. Lukas and Sabina Grabarczyk had to make a difficult choice: agree to an emergency caesarean section or continue carrying the baby.
At any moment, Emilia could die in the womb; problems arose with the placenta and the baby’s nutrition. The parents decided to take the chance and try to save their daughter. Sabina had a caesarean section at 26 weeks of pregnancy. The weight of the fetus was much less than expected, but the doctors still decided to fight for the child’s life.
This case is called unique, because the chances of survival were negligible. Fortunately, everything ended well.
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