A little girl born with feet the size of a fingernail is being hailed as the world’s smallest surviving premature baby .
When Emilia Grabarczyk was born nine months ago at a hospital in the western German city of Witten, she was just 8.6 inches (22 cm) long and 8 ounces (229 grams) in weight.
Her precious feet were only her 1.2-inches – not much bigger than the size of a fingernail. In comparison, a large banana weighs about 7 ounces while an orange is 6 ounces.
German media said that she was the lightest preterm infant ever born, and doctors referred to her as the “little fighter” and called her survival a “medical sensation.”
There was an increased risk of hyperactivity and learning difficulties. Emilia even survived abdominal surgery at a weight of just 12 ounces. Yet luckily for the girl, there are no signs of serious disability.
She was initially fed with a tiny tube. To calm her and ease her agony, the physicians gave her a cotton bud drenched in sugar water. At the 26th week of pregnancy, doctors and her parents Lukas, 34, and Sabine, 30, agreed to deliver the baby via Caesarean section. She was born at the Maria Hospital.
The record for the smallest baby was said to be held by Rumaisa Rahman, who was born in the Loyola University Medical Centre in the US city of Chicago in 2004 when her mum was only 25 weeks pregnant.
Rumaisa was 8.6 ounces and 8 inches long when she was born. Emilia would have perished in the womb if they hadn’t delivered her early since the placenta wasn’t enough to feed her, according to Prof. Dr. Sven Schiermeier, chief obstetrician.
Right now, Emilia weighs 106 ounces and seems to be in much better physical condition. Dr. Bahman Gharavi, Head of Children and Youth Clinic at the hospital, said the Emilia’s birth was truly unique. The doctor claimed that the collaboration of pediatricians, gynecologists, and pediatric surgeons was the only thing that allowed the infant to survive.
