The National Premmie Foundation announces the
2nd Annual National Premmie Day
with celebrations occurring Australia wide for the births of
our smallest and most vulnerable newborns.
This is a story from a mexican newspaper, La Cronica De Hoy. The story is in Spanish so I'll summarize it for you.
Baby Sofía was born premature at 16 weeks and weighed 16 ounces (about 2 cups of sugar). Her family and the Doctors at IMSS did a wonderful job in nurturing and loving her. Sofia is doing very well and is now at home with her family. She will celebrate her first birthday in a couple of months. Look at her. 16 weeks. How can someone say: it's my body. It's my choice.
God bless her, her family, and the good Doctors at IMSS.
Pass the word. Abortion kills babies.
Born 16 weeks premature and weighing just 1lb 4oz, Charlie Jo Glover was so tiny her hand could fit inside a ring.
Put on oxygen in an incubator, she clung on to life while doctors warned her worried parents she might not survive.
But now Janice Snalam, 39, and partner Michael Glover, 41, are preparing to celebrate the birthday they feared their daughter would never see.
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Happy Birthday: Charlie Jo Glover is full of life as she prepares for her first birthday
Despite the odds, she now weighs a healthy 15lb 3oz and will be one-year-old tomorrow.
Miss Snalam and her partner, a delivery driver, were told that Charlie Jo could die because she was so premature her lungs were not properly formed.
Her parents, who have been together for ten years and have another daughter Holly, four, were also told their baby had a 50 per cent chance of being physically or mentally disabled.
But after a battery of tests, she has finally been given the all-clear. Miss Snalam said: "Charlie Jo's fantastic. She's got two teeth, she's eating off a spoon and she's sitting up on her own.
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Tiny: Charlie Jo's minute hand could fit inside a wedding ring
Charlie Jo Glover was born four months early and weighed just 1lb and 4oz
"She's had her eyes and her ears checked, she's absolutely perfect. Charlie Jo's first birthday is such a milestone for us. She was so very poorly when she was born, we didn't think she would survive.
"But she's such a little fighter. We feel so lucky to have both of our children."
Full-time mother Janice, who suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome, took medication to increase ovulation before finally falling pregnant with the couple's first child Holly.
The couple, from Hindley in Wigan, Greater Manchester, were thrilled when she then fell pregnant with Charlie Jo three years later to complete their family. But this time the pregnancy was much more problematic.
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Big difference: Charlie Jo with her proud parents, Janice, 39, and Mike, 41
Charlie Jo was born last February 6 after her mother went into labour in the 24th week of pregnancy and was given steroid injections to increase her unborn baby's chance of survival.
Miss Snalam said: "I had the usual morning sickness at the beginning for about six weeks then I started feeling fantastic.
"Then at 14 weeks I had just been here and tidied up and I got quite a serious stabbing pain in my tummy. I didn't feel right, went to the loo and there was blood everywhere. I thought I had miscarried. I had miscarried aged 30, before I had Holly. I thought I had lost our baby, it felt the same."
Doctors hoped she wouldn't give birth until she reached 28 weeks, but just a few days later she was taken into the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Because she was bleeding heavily, doctors immediately decided to perform an emergency Caesarean section.
After she was born, Charlie Jo was placed in an incubator and could not he held by her parents until she was eight days old.
Miss Snalam said: "I was allowed to hold her for about ten minutes. It was like holding air. Her tiny body pretty much fit into my two hands lengthways."
Charlie Jo was kept in hospital on oxygen before finally being allowed to go home three months later.
Miss Snalam added: "We got her home three weeks before her due date and she went from strength to strength. She's a very smiley baby. Holly is great with Charlie, really fantastic, always playing with her."
A premature baby born under the abortion limit has proved her doctors wrong - by leaving hospital for the first time since being born nine months ago.
Ellie-Suzanne Fish arrived four months premature on September 3 last year, five days before the current UK abortion limit of 24 weeks.
She weighed just 1lb 4.7oz and was given a 10 to 15 per cent chance of survival.
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A Miracle: Beverley and Dave Fish with Ellie-Suzanne, who weighed only 1lb 4.7oz at birth
But she clung to life and has battled through two brain operations to reach a healthy 14lbs in weight and is well enough to go home for the first time.
Her parents Beverley, 37, and Dave, 42, of Fishponds, Bristol, say they still cannot believe she is finally home.
Dave said: ''I just find it absolutely incredible that she made it and we have finally got her home.
''We have had her cot there and empty for so long, and now we creep in in the middle of the night and watch her in there, it's like nothing else.
''We have seen such a difference and a change in her since she had the operation and is doing things we thought she would, like smiling and moving her legs. I'm so proud to take her out and show her off.''
Beverley went into labour five months into her pregnancy. Complications during the labour at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and the trauma of Ellie-Suzanne's early birth caused two brain bleeds.
''She could have died but she fought through two brain operations,'' said Beverley. ''That she came out of it such a little darling is so amazing.
''After all she has been through we sometimes cannot believe that she is here and so strong with a smile on her face. She's a miracle.''
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Ellie-Suzanne spent her first six months in a neo-natal intensive care unit before being moved to Bristol Children's Hospital
James White weighed only 1lb 8oz when born 11 weeks prematurely with 3lb 4oz twin sister Harriet on May 25 last year.
With oxygen levels decreasing further, the twins were born prematurely at the University of North Staffordshire Hospital, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, after 29 weeks.Tiny Kimberley Mueller weighed just over 10 ounces when she was born - making her the world's smallest surviving baby.
The size of a mobile phone: Kimberley Mueller weighed just over 10 ounces when she was born in Hanover, Germany - making her the world's smallest surviving baby
But Kimberley, who was just 10.2cm long, spent months on a life support system as doctors in Germany fought to save her.
The tiny mite was kept in an incubator for warmth and drip-fed, while a respirator help her breathe.
British birth experts said it was "incredible" that she had survived.
Now six months, Kimberley has been allowed home for the first time (Above with mother Petra and father Andreas)
Dr Arvind Shah, consultant paediatrician at Great Ormond Street's Middlesex unit, said: "This is amazing - she must be a little fighter.
"Now we have more sophisticated equipment premature babies do have a better chance of living. But there are obviously huge health risks."
Kimberley's chances of living were rated at worse than 1,000-1 when she was born 15 weeks prematurely
Kimberley's mother Petra Mueller, from Hanover, said: "I was allowed to stroke her with my finger and I always spoke to her.
"It was the nicest thing when she would grip my finger in her tiny hands."
Liam is now putting on weight and is due home in early March
Mrs Allard's father, Tom Berry, said: "I was overwhelmed by the way Lorraine took it.
"She lived for her husband and children. She was a big personality with a heart of gold."
Babies born at 25 weeks have a 50 per cent chance of survival.
This goes down to 39 per cent at 24 weeks and 17 per cent - or a one in six chance - at 23 weeks.
Tamera Dixon weighed slightly more than 11 ounces and measured 10 inches when she was born in April at 25 weeks gestation.
She now weighs four pounds, five ounces.“She was so tiny, she could hold in the palm of her hand. She was so emaciated, skin and bones really and she didn’t look human to me,” mother Andrea Haws said.
She only had a 15 percent chance of survival and many consider it a miracle, including her mother.
Tamera was delivered by Caesarean section at Capital Health System’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when her mother’s kidneys started failing and Tamera stopped growing.
She was so small, doctors worried that the equipment wouldn’t fit.
Dr. Moffitt said all indications point toward an excellent prognosis for Tamera to develop on a normal schedule.
The second smallest baby to born and survive in New Jersey, and now a sister with two big brothers.
Advances in technology are giving these tiny fighters better chances of survival, but that does not rule out developmental delays later on.
These parents will probably not know if they are going to have issues until Tamera is at least 8/9 months old.
We wish this family luck. They are very fortunate to be able her home in such a short time.
When Adele De Bondi was 20 weeks pregnant during a routine ultrasound doctors noticed that her baby was only about 17 weeks in size.
They gave her a course of steroids in hopes of stimulating the baby’s growth, but her placenta was dying, taking with it - the baby.
Undeterred by the prognosis, Ms De Bondi demanded a caesarean section despite the risks of losing not only her child but her fertility and her own life.
Elora was born after only 24 weeks in the womb.
Elora De Bondi’ was born on January 29 weighing 319 grams, making her possibly the smallest baby born alive in Australia. Her arms barely spanned the length of her mother’s finger.
Before she was delivered 16 weeks’ premature, doctors at the Royal Women’s Hospital doubted she would live. But her mother, Adele, even after being told by doctors that they held no hope, never lost her own hope.
Elora spent seven months in intensive care attached to ventilators and came close to dying countless times.
She battled infections, renal failure and the stress of her surroundings. Many times doctors advised Ms De Bondi to switch off Elora’s life support. Her mother remained steadfast, trusting that her fragile daughter, who she had barely touched, would pull through.After months in a critical condition, Elora grew to 4.4 kilograms. She left hospital on August 27, astounding doctors with her survival.
Elora’s pediatrician said her story was “miraculous but the journey is long and uncertain for extremely tiny babies”.
“Families, and the staff who care for such premature babies, have faced the most difficult decisions of survival and quality of life,” said Sue Jacobs, director of the Royal Women’s neonatal services.
Before Elora, the smallest surviving baby at the Royal Women’s was Adriana Cassar, born 13 weeks premature, at 374 grams, eight years ago.
*Elora faces many hurdles. She is fed through a gastronasal tube and her immune system is weak. While her lung disease is expected to clear in childhood, doctors will wait at least two years before giving the all-clear.*
Everytime I read one of these stories it makes me realize that you can’t underestimate the power of a micro-preemie. I also hope that it shows parents who are currently in this situation that you have to believe that your baby can be far more than doctors think they can be.
I hear of too many parents disconnecting their preemies because of long term health fears. Not all babies make it out with nothing wrong, but most parents of special needs children will tell you that their child has taught them a new way to look at life.
