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 – less than a can of soda – when she was delivered by Caesarean section Sept. 19 at Loyola University Medical Center. 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, Hiba, and their parents were introduced Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital in suburban Maywood. The girls were bundled 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,” she said.
Hospital officials said they are 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.
Rumaisa now weighs 2 pounds, 10 ounces. Her twin weighs 5 pounds.
“They’re maintaining their temperature; they don’t need an incubator. They’re taking their bottles,” Dr. William MacMillan said. “They’re normal babies.”
Shaik, 23, developed pre-eclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure and other problems, during pregnancy. The condition endangered the twins and their mother, prompting a C-section at 26 weeks. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.
Dr. Jonathan Muraskas, a professor of neonatal-perinatal medicine, said several factors may have improved the babies’ chances of survival.
Muraskas said girls are also more likely to survive than boys when born at less than 13 ounces, and the twins could have been helped by their mother’s health problems. “Sometimes, when babies are stressed in utero, that can accelerate maturity,” he said.
Ultrasound tests have shown no bleeding in Rumaisa’s brain, a common complication in premature babies that can raise the risk of cerebral palsy. Both girls also underwent laser surgery to correct vision problems common in preemies.
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